UCL: Szoboszlai late penalty hands Liverpool crucial win over Inter Milan
Liverpool secured a high-leverage Champions League win over Inter Milan after Dominik Szoboszlai converted an 88th-minute penalty, delivering a timely operational rebound during a turbulent week for the club.
The narrative heading into the fixture was dominated by Mohamed Salah’s omission following his explosive interview, but the squad recalibrated on the pitch to capture three critical points.
Liverpool regain control amid off-field turbulence
With Salah left in England, responsibility changed hands. A VAR review flagged Alessandro Bastoni’s shirt pull on Florian Wirtz, and Szoboszlai executed under pressure, beating Yann Sommer despite the goalkeeper reading the direction correctly.
The strike maintained Liverpool’s upward trajectory, extending their unbeaten run to four after a damaging sequence of nine defeats in 12.
The Reds now sit on 12 points from six league-phase matches, re-entering the top-eight bracket that guarantees automatic progression to the last 16.
Inter threaten but falter late
Inter entered the match on a 19-game unbeaten home run in the competition but saw it collapse despite generating key moments.
Liverpool thought they had broken through earlier when Ibrahima Konaté headed in from a corner, only for VAR to rule Hugo Ekitike had handled the ball in the buildup.
Curtis Jones, Szoboszlai, and Ekitike all forced Sommer into action, while Inter lost Piotr Zielinski and Yann Aurel Bisseck to injury disruptions.
The hosts gained momentum midway through the first half, with Nicolò Barella going close from a free-kick and Lautaro Martínez denied by Alisson.
