Szoboszlai's Late Penalty Secures Crucial Win for Liverpool Against Inter

Liverpool earned a much-needed 1-0 victory over Inter Milan at San Siro on Tuesday, courtesy of an 88th-minute penalty calmly converted by Dominik Szoboszlai. With Mohamed Salah absent following his controversial outburst at Elland Road, Szoboszlai stepped up to deliver a vital win that eases mounting pressure on manager Arne Slot.

While Liverpool’s overall performance offered little improvement from the weekend defeat at Leeds, they were defensively far more composed. Alexander Isak once again struggled to make an impact up front, with Liverpool’s creativity hampered by the decision to start Florian Wirtz on the bench.

Despite the lack of attacking fluency, Liverpool’s backline held firm. Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson effectively neutralised Inter’s threat from the flanks, and Alisson Becker made an important save from Lautaro Martínez on the brink of half-time to keep the game level.

The decisive moment arrived late in the contest when VAR spotted a minor shirt pull by Alessandro Bastoni on Wirtz inside the penalty box. The decision infuriated Inter coach Cristian Chivu and his staff, but Szoboszlai made no mistake from the spot to hand Slot his first win since the public fallout with Salah.

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Liverpool Player Ratings vs Inter Milan

Goalkeeper & Defence

Alisson Becker — 7/10
Produced a sharp near-post save from Martínez and remained largely untroubled in an otherwise dull encounter.

Joe Gomez — 6/10
Selected ahead of Bradley to counter Dimarco’s threat and delivered a steady performance. Made forward runs but lacked precision with his final balls.

Ibrahima Konaté — 6/10
Saw his goal disallowed but delivered a confidence-building display. A few misplaced passes, but overall contributed to the clean sheet.

Virgil van Dijk — 7/10
Calm, commanding, and in full control. Won key duels and distributed the ball with confidence.

Andy Robertson — 7/10
Justified his return to the XI with disciplined defending and several dangerous crosses.

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Midfield

Ryan Gravenberch — 7/10
A composed outing with several timely interceptions. Still short of his best but showed significant improvement.

Alexis Mac Allister — 6/10
Offered little going forward but worked hard defensively and earned multiple fouls. A modest but positive step up.

Curtis Jones — 7/10
One of Liverpool’s most effective performers. Confident in tight spaces and showed leadership through his intensity.

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Attack

Dominik Szoboszlai — 8/10
Energetic across the pitch and decisive from the spot. Continued to press and recover possession deep into the closing stages.

Alexander Isak — 3/10
Another disappointing outing. Provided no meaningful contribution before being substituted after 68 minutes. Questions over his readiness are mounting.

Hugo Ekitike — 7/10
Lively, direct, and threatening. Consistently looked capable of creating chances. Strong case to start against Brighton.

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Substitutes & Manager

Conor Bradley — 7/10
Surprisingly benched despite his weekend suspension, but made an immediate impact by creating chances and almost scoring.

Florian Wirtz — 6/10
Another unexpected omission from the starting XI. Won the decisive penalty after coming on.

Arne Slot — 8/10
A crucial victory in difficult circumstances. While the performance was far from convincing, Slot secured a clean sheet and a much-needed result, with his preferred right-sided option delivering the winning moment. One of the most significant wins of his tenure so far.