Overview
Liverpool's turbulent campaign continued to be darker last weekend. They are forced to expect a turning point when facing Inter Milan in the Champions League.
The Reds dropped the two-goal lead in the 3-3 draw with Leeds United in the Premier League. Ao Tanaka's 96th-minute equalizer left Arne Slot's side with just one win in their last six games in all competitions.
That disappointing run included a surprise 1-4 defeat at Anfield to PSV in the Champions League, which saw Liverpool drop to 13th in the table.
Worse, star striker Mohamed Salah - who has been on the bench for 3 consecutive matches - has made his future at Liverpool even more uncertain after his eye-catching statements at Elland Road.
The Egyptian, who signed a new two-year contract in April and has only scored five goals in all competitions this season, told the press: "I have contributed a lot to this club over the years, especially last season.
Now I have to sit on the bench and I don't understand why. It felt like the club had abandoned me. That's what I think. Obviously someone is trying to blame me for all the mistakes."
It is no surprise that Salah has been left out of Liverpool's squad, meaning he will not feature at the San Siro.
Although Salah has not repeated his explosive form as Liverpool won the Premier League 2024-2025, he is not the only one to play below. The Reds have only converted 2 goals from 44 shots and 4.9 expected goals (xG) in the last 2 Champions League matches. Now they have to face Inter Milan - a team that has only conceded 3 goals in the tournament this season.
Two of those three goals came from a 1-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the previous round - Inter's first defeat in the Champions League this season. Currently, Simone Inzaghi's team is one of 4 teams exactly three points behind Arsenal.
Head-to-head record
The last time the two teams met in the 2021-2022 Champions League, Inter Milan had a 1-0 victory at Anfield. However, this victory was not enough to help them avoid being eliminated - because in the first leg at San Siro, Liverpool won 2-0 thanks to Salah and Roberto Firmino.
More broadly, it was Liverpool's fourth win in six meetings with Inter in the Champions League. One of the memorable victories was in the return leg in March 2008 at Nerazzurri - when Fernando Torres scored the only goal, sealing a 3-0 victory in the round of 16.
The only match in which both teams have scored in their history was in the semi-finals of the 1964-1965 season. Liverpool won 3-1 in the first leg, and since then, in the next five encounters, the winning team has kept the net intact.
Score prediction: Inter Milan 2-2 Liverpool
The match between Inter Milan and Liverpool takes place at 3:00 am on December 10 (Vietnam time).
