Dominik Szoboszlai’s 88th-minute penalty secured a hard-fought 1-0 win for Liverpool over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League group stage, marking just their second victory in seven matches (D2, L3).

Liverpool traveled to Italy without Mohamed Salah, who was left out of the squad following his post-match outburst after Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United. The forward had publicly criticized the club and manager Arne Slot, claiming he had been “thrown under the bus.”

Despite the absence of their star attacker, Liverpool tried to block out the distraction and made a bright start. Curtis Jones tested Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer with an early effort in the first 20 minutes.

Ibrahima Konaté appeared to have given Liverpool the lead just after the half-hour mark with a well-placed header. However, the goal was ruled out following a lengthy VAR review, which confirmed Hugo Ekitike had handled Van Dijk’s knockdown earlier in the move.

Inter began to grow into the game after that reprieve and came close to taking the lead before halftime. Lautaro Martínez’s powerful header forced a sharp reaction from Alisson, keeping the scores level.

The second half saw few clear-cut chances as both defenses held firm. Hugo Ekitike tried a long-range strike that Sommer easily gathered, while Conor Bradley’s rare foray into the Inter box in the 80th minute ended with a tame shot straight at the goalkeeper.

Just when it seemed the match might finish goalless, Liverpool earned a penalty after Alessandro Bastoni was penalized for a slight shirt tug on Florian Wirtz. Szoboszlai stepped up and confidently fired the spot-kick out of Sommer’s reach, clinching all three points for the Reds.

The victory moves Liverpool up to eighth in the group, level on points with fifth-placed Inter, who have now suffered back-to-back defeats in the Champions League.