Mohamed Salah's explosive statements last weekend and his exclusion from the squad have raised big questions, is the Liverpool dressing room cracked? Will Arne Slot's authority be shaken after a club icon publicly expressed dissatisfaction?
The answer comes in the most obvious way. Liverpool took the field with a fierce fighting spirit, impressive discipline and bravery to win 1-0 right at San Siro, thereby stepping back to the group of 8 leading the Champions League qualifying round.
Arne Slot stressed after the match that this was not his personal story, it was a collective victory. The Dutch captain praised the fighting spirit of his players in the stormy situation, and affirmed that they deserve to be mentioned more than anyone else. In fact, the performance in Milan showed that Liverpool have played one of the most certain matches of this season.
After the 3-3 draw at Leeds and Salah's statements that night, Liverpool came to San Siro with a completely different face. They are calmer, more connected and more organized. Once again, Dominik Szoboszlai has become a hero, a detail that is very true to what he has shown since the beginning of the season.
The Hungarian midfielder is the only player in Arne Slot's squad to have maintained his top form for the past 4 months. He has played every minute of play in 21 Premier League and Champions League games this season. At the most important moment, Szoboszlai himself was the one who coldly converted the penalty. Although giving the 11m goal caused a lot of controversy, for Slot, it was a worthy reward for the disadvantages the home team had to suffer before.
This victory became even more special as it was Inter's first home defeat in the Champions League since September 2022. Liverpool have defeated both of their number one seed giants, Real Madrid and Inter, in turn. The paradox is that between those two matches, they had a humiliating 1-4 defeat to PSV, proving Liverpool's unpredictability this season.
tactically, Slot's 4-4-2 diamond system is effective. Ryan Gravenberch was excellent at the diamond bottom, while Curtis Jones had his best performance of the season. At home, Liverpool were solid, allowing just two shots on target and an expected goals (xG) of just 0.5. In contrast, Liverpool created an xG of up to 1.5 and had 5 shots in goal.
One of the most notable stories was Ibrahima Konate's performance. The French midfielder went through a difficult period with many mistakes, it seemed that he could lose his starting position. However, against Inter, he played almost perfectly alongside Virgil van Dijk. The home team's most dangerous striker, Lautaro Martinez, was almost completely disabled, only having one notable situation but failing to overcome the reflection of goalkeeper Alisson.
Ironically, if Salah had not publicly expressed his frustration at Elland Road last weekend, he would have been at the San Siro, especially in the absence of Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa. The combination of Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak in attack was not harmonious. However, Slot's second-half adjustments such as pushing up the pressing and bringing on Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley made the difference.
This was Liverpool's first away win in the Champions League without Salah since 200 years. It raises a big question of what will happen next between The Kop and the Egyptian striker? Slot has hinted that Salah himself must be proactive if he is to reclaim the relationship, but he has not mentioned it directly. Subsequent dialogues between Salah and the coaching staff have been scheduled as the team returns to Merseyside.
Captain Van Dijk and Szoboszlai both confirmed that this was an internal problem that needed to be resolved in the dressing room. They emphasized the need to fight against external media pressure and maintain internal solidarity.
The victory over Inter not only brought home 3 important points, it also helped Liverpool regain their composure after a series of chaotic days. Although Salah's future is still unclear, one thing has been confirmed that Arne Slot still controls the dressing room and Liverpool are still a team that knows how to stand up in adversity.
