Leeds 3-3 Liverpool: Match Review and Mo Salah bombshell
Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up to covert a late penalty and earn Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Arne Slot heaped praise on Dominik Szoboszlai for stepping up to the plate and delivering Liverpool victory over Inter Milan.
The midfielder rifled home an 88th-minute penalty to earn a 1-0 win in the Champions League at the San Siro.
After a largely uneventful encounter, bar Ibrahima Konate having a first-half goal ruled out following a VAR review, Liverpool were awarded a late spot-kick. VAR this time came to the Reds’ aid as Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni tugged on Florian Wirtz’s shirt which was spotted by VAR and Felix Zwayer pointed to the penalty spot after reviewing the incident.
Liverpool’s usual penalty-taker Mo Salah was absent, having been left on Merseyside after his bombshell interview he gave following last Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds United. Salah claimed he had been ‘thrown under a bus’ and his relationship with Slot had broken down.
Szoboszlai instead took up the duty. And in a highly pressurised scenario, the midfielder finished the penalty with aplomb. Szoboszlai has been Liverpool’s standout performer in a largely lacklustre campaign, with the Reds’ Premier League title defence over before Christmas.
On the Hungary international, Liverpool head coach Slot said: “I've asked a lot of him, a lot of different positions. Although no matter what position he plays, I always try to bring him in certain positions. I think what is also special with him is how much he runs in a game. So, he's one of the few players that played four games in the last 10 days. Maybe Ibou also all the time 90 [minutes] together with Virgil, but they play in a different position, so centre-backs don't run as much as midfielders have to do.
“So, it's special what he's doing physically but also football-wise because, again, he played a good game and he stood up in a difficult moment. Because it's not easy, 86 minutes, your first penalty for Liverpool, I think - maybe in the [Community] Shield, so in other moments – during a game on 0-0, so that's a special moment. But he has a great shot and he delivered because he takes a lot of penalties for the national team and for his former clubs as well.”
Despite a poor first half of the season, Liverpool have now gone four matches unbeaten. But Slot is not getting too far carried away. He added: “That's difficult to see because we cannot foresee the future.
“But I think it was mainly for us very important that we got a result today, because with an away game to Marseille also still to play and one home game, we needed points. And we know how difficult that would be over here, because they have been so, so, so strong in this stadium, in the league but definitely also in the Champions League.
“So it's a great result, like it was against Real Madrid. It's not funny but it's the weird thing that we've had a few special results this season; so, beating Arsenal, beating Real Madrid, beating Newcastle away, beating Aston Villa where they won 10 in a row and only lost against us. So that's why it's so surprising to see that we drop points in so many other games, although there are multiple reasons, but one of them I just said.”
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