Liverpool vs Inter Milan: Szoboszlai penalty wins without Salah

Some European nights turn on a single decision, and this one turned on two: Liverpool arrived at the San Siro without Mohamed Salah and left with a 1-0 Champions League win that swung on a disallowed header, a late VAR call, and a Dominik Szoboszlai penalty. The result quieted questions about squad depth for an evening, even as the debate over the refereeing — and over Salah’s absence — kept running.

Final Score: Inter Milan 0-1 Liverpool ·
Match Date: December 9, 2025 ·
Deciding Goal: Dominik Szoboszlai (penalty, 88th minute) ·
Key Incident: VAR award of penalty to Liverpool

Ten facts capture the night’s swing: one result, two VAR decisions, and a set of questions Liverpool will carry into the next round.

Who missed Liverpool’s penalties?

The question sounds odd for a night when Liverpool scored from the spot, but it made sense in context: Mohamed Salah, the player whose absence reshaped Liverpool’s lineup, was back in England. Into that gap stepped Dominik Szoboszlai, and the rest of the evening became a study in how VAR can change a game twice.

Was the penalty decision controversial?

The first flashpoint came in the opening half, when Ibrahima Konate’s header was disallowed after a handball review tied to Hugo Ekitike’s arm in the build-up. ESPN AU’s match report detailed the sequence, and Ahram Online (Egyptian English-language news site) put the length of the check at more than four minutes.

Then, with three minutes of normal time remaining, the referee awarded Liverpool a penalty after VAR flagged that Alessandro Bastoni had pulled Florian Wirtz’s shirt, as BBC Sport (UK sports broadcaster) reported.

Who was the penalty taker?

• Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up and scored the 88th-minute penalty, the only goal of the match
• The award came from the Bastoni-Wirtz incident, not from the earlier Konate handball

With Salah out of the lineup, Szoboszlai took responsibility and delivered at the exact moment Liverpool needed him — 88 minutes in, in a stadium where Inter had pushed for long stretches.

What did Thierry Henry say?

• Thierry Henry criticized the penalty decision as controversial on CBS Sports’ Champions League coverage
• Andrew Robertson described the penalty as “soft” (Liverpool.com)

Henry’s verdict gave the night its pundit-grade soundtrack; Robertson’s single word — “soft” — landed from the other side and meant roughly the same thing.

Why is Salah not playing for Liverpool today?

The most searched question of the night had little to do with tactics. Salah stayed in England while his teammates were in Milan, and that fact shaped the conversation more than Inter’s form did.

What was the reason for Salah’s absence?

• Salah was not in Liverpool’s travelling squad, a detail confirmed in Sky Sports’ match coverage
• ESPN linked the omission to a public outburst after Liverpool’s draw with Leeds (ESPN (sports broadcaster))
• Salah remained in England for the match (Ahram Online)

The club did not issue an official explanation, which left the story open to interpretation.

How did Liverpool perform without Salah?

• The win lifted Liverpool into the top eight of the league phase, despite significant pressure around Salah’s absence (Sky Sports)

The performance was pragmatic rather than pretty: Inter pushed, Liverpool held, and the match was decided by one late moment from the spot.

When will Salah return?

No return date has been confirmed. For now, the answer to “when is Salah back?” is the same as the answer to “why was he out?”: unclear.

What this means: Liverpool’s squad depth passed a serious test, but the Salah situation has not been resolved — it has been postponed to the next selection decision.

Could Klopp return to Liverpool?

Whenever Liverpool wobble, the question reappears. The emotional power of Jurgen Klopp’s farewell makes the “what if” irresistible, even with Arne Slot now in charge.

Who is Liverpool’s current manager?

• Arne Slot is Liverpool’s manager; Sky Sports has described his team as “embattled” in the context of the Salah episode
• Slot’s Liverpool beat Inter 1-0 in Milan, a result that strengthens his position

Slot inherited a squad that had already been through a rebuild under Klopp, and the transition has not been quiet. Results like the San Siro win buy him room.

What is Jurgen Klopp’s legacy at Liverpool?

• Klopp left Liverpool in 2024 after a tenure widely regarded as one of the club’s most successful eras
• There has been no official indication that he might return

The bond between Klopp and the fanbase made the farewell emotional, and nostalgia is a powerful fuel for rumors. But the club’s decision to hand the job to Slot was a statement of direction.

Could Steven Gerrard replace Klopp?

• Gerrard’s name has been linked with the Liverpool job for years in fan and media speculation
• The position is currently Slot’s, and nothing in the club’s public statements suggests a change

Gerrard questions belong to the era of speculation about Klopp’s successor. That vacancy was filled; the current debate is about how much patience Slot gets.

The trade-off: Liverpool can chase the emotional story of a Klopp return or the practical path of Slot’s rebuild. The San Siro result says they chose the second, at least for now.

Who is Liverpool’s worst enemy?

Every club has a rival that raises the pulse. For Liverpool, the usual names are Manchester United and Everton — and this season, a side from Milan added itself to the conversation.

Who are Liverpool’s main rivals?

• Manchester United and Everton are Liverpool’s traditional domestic rivals
• Inter Milan hosted Liverpool at the San Siro, adding a European chapter to the rivalry list

The domestic rivalries carry the badge of history; the Inter matchup carries the badge of Europe. Both ask the same question of a Liverpool squad in transition: can you handle the occasion?

What is Liverpool’s record against Inter Milan?

• The 2025-26 Champions League meeting ended Inter Milan 0-1 Liverpool
• Dominik Szoboszlai’s 88th-minute penalty was the difference

One match does not make a rivalry, but the manner of this one — a disputed penalty, a disallowed goal, a hostile San Siro — gives the fixture instant talking points.

Has Liverpool ever lost to Inter?

The “never beaten” question is a fan-forum classic, and the honest answer is that European records change fast. What mattered on the night was that Liverpool bent, wobbled, and still took the points.

The pattern: rivalries grow when matches produce arguments. This one gave both sets of supporters plenty.

How much debt is Liverpool in 2026?

Finance questions do not usually follow a Champions League win, but this one does — because the Salah situation has put Liverpool’s squad planning under a microscope.

How much debt does Liverpool have?

• Reported figures put Liverpool’s debt around £100 million as of 2026
• A figure in that range, if accurate, would be modest for a club of Liverpool’s revenue

Numbers this large are easy to misread. Context matters more than the headline: turnover, owner support, and player costs all change what “£100 million of debt” actually means for transfer decisions.

Does Barcelona still owe Liverpool money?

• The Coutinho transfer is frequently cited as a deal with payments still flowing to Liverpool

It is the rare debt story that works in Liverpool’s favor: Barcelona’s instalments have been a running financial sidebar since the midfielder left Anfield.

What is the financial health of Liverpool compared to other Premier League clubs?

Liverpool are not the poorest club in the Premier League, and a reported £100 million figure would not put them anywhere near that label. The relevant comparison is to what the club’s competitors can spend without selling.

Why this matters: the finance question is really a squad-planning question. If the debt picture is as manageable as the reported numbers suggest, Liverpool’s next problem is not money — it is keeping Salah’s focus where it needs to be.

Match timeline

One sequence decided the game: a disallowed header, a long VAR check, a shirt pull, and a cool penalty.

Why this matters: the timeline reads like a seesaw, and the final tilt came from a spot kick awarded with normal time almost gone.

What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear

This split tells the story of the night: the hard facts are locked in, but the questions around the team will not be answered by a scoreboard.

Reaction from both sides

Thierry Henry criticized the penalty decision as controversial, giving the night its sharpest pundit verdict.

Thierry Henry, CBS Sports Champions League coverage

Andrew Robertson described the penalty as “soft” — one word that summarized how close this game was to a different result.

Andrew Robertson, quoted by Liverpool.com (fan-focused Liverpool outlet)

The pattern: when a match is decided by a disputed penalty, everyone becomes a VAR expert — including the people paid to explain it.

The takeaway

For Liverpool, the San Siro scoreboard is the clean part. The messy part is everything around it: Salah’s status, the VAR debate, and a squad that won without its star but still faces questions about how long that can last. For Arne Slot, the next fixture list is the real test: keep turning narrow wins into points, and the “embattled” label disappears; drop points, and every decision — from team selection to the club’s January plans — gets examined in a harsher light.

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