Liverpool scraped a 1-0 victory away to Inter on Champions League Matchday 6, a result that hauls them back into the top eight with 12 points. Full report over on Football24.

A week earlier they’d been embarrassed at Anfield by PSV and had tumbled all the way down to 13th. With only three games left in the league phase, every point felt like life or death. It wasn’t just that result either – the Reds had managed just one win in their previous six across all competitions, copping three straight hidings and even shipping three in a draw away to Leeds.

Arne Slot was hanging by a thread, yet he still left Mo Salah at home. After the Egyptian’s very public tantrum at the weekend, whatever was left of that relationship looks smashed beyond repair.

Inter rolled up almost at full strength (only Dumfries missing), sitting pretty in the top four and looking comfortable.

All the drama, none of the finishing

It took less than ten minutes for Inter’s night to go pear-shaped. Hakan Çalhanoğlu pulled up clutching his hamstring with nobody near him and had to be replaced by Zielinski. Even before that they’d been in no rush to attack; without their skipper they barely got out of first gear until the 37th minute.

Liverpool bossed the ball and, once Hakan went off, started knocking on the door. Curtis Jones and Hugo Ekitike both leathered one from distance around the 18-minute mark – decent hits, but Yann Sommer was equal to both. Jones had danced past a couple of blue-and-black shirts before letting fly.

The best move of the half came on 20 minutes: Robertson clipped a beauty over Bastoni, Ekitike cushioned it first-time into Szoboszlai’s path and only a last-ditch Acerbi slide stopped a tap-in.

Inter finally woke up on 27 minutes when Lautaro slipped past Gravenberch and tried a give-and-go with Thuram, only for Gravenberch to recover and poke it away.

Then on 32 minutes Ekitike got in down the right, left the 37-year-old Acerbi on his backside and fizzed one across the keeper could only parry. Play stopped straight away – Acerbi stayed down injured and was replaced by Bisseck. Two massive blows for Inter inside half an hour.

The resulting corner should have brought the opener. Szoboszlai swung it in, Van Dijk and Ekitike attacked it, the ball dropped to Konaté who powered a header goalwards. Lautaro was on the line and the ball smashed into him and over the line. Anfield-away exploded… for about five seconds.

VAR spotted that the ball had flicked Ekitike’s arm on its way through. Handball in the build-up, no goal. Took them a ridiculous five minutes to sort it out even with perfect angles.

Weirdly, losing two key men seemed to galvanise Inter. From the 37th minute to half-time they rattled off five shots to Liverpool’s none and carved out two genuine chances. They were screaming for a penalty when Bisseck’s drive hit Van Dijk’s arm, but it had clearly cannoned off Virgil’s chest first.

Barella almost scored a screamer on 40 minutes, curling a free-kick inches past the top corner. Then in stoppage time Lautaro got above Van Dijk to meet Bastoni’s cross but Alisson pulled off a brilliant save.

0-0 at the break. Odd half: Inter were hopeless for the first half-hour, Liverpool hopeless for the last 20 minutes of it. Both pressed like mad but both played through it fairly easily. Honours even.

Second half snoozefest until the late sting

If the first half had been scrappy but eventful, the second was just flat. Inter were dreadful – three powder-puff shots from distance and five touches in Liverpool’s box until the 85th minute.

Liverpool weren’t much better, but they at least looked the more likely. Bradley, on as a sub, smashed one straight at Sommer on 80 minutes, and they had a couple of near things: Robertson’s low cross just evaded Mac Allister, then Szoboszlai played Ekitike clean through only for Sommer to rush out and smother.

With the game drifting towards a grim 0-0, caretaker boss Christian Chivu threw on three subs in one go. Seconds later Liverpool had a penalty – and it was Slot’s substitute who made it happen.

Florian Wirtz had been anonymous since coming on, but when Ekitike clipped a ball over the top he chased it into the box, felt Bastoni grab a handful of shirt and went down in instalments. Initially play went on, then VAR pinged the referee. Clear pull on the shirt. Penalty.

Szoboszlai stepped up and calmly rolled it past Sommer. 87th minute, 1-0.

Six minutes of stoppage time felt like an eternity for the travelling fans, but Inter barely laid a glove on Alisson – the closest they came was a wild Lautaro air-kick from 14 yards.

When the whistle finally went the relief was massive. Three points in the bag, back into the top eight, and – for now at least – Arne Slot gets to keep his job for another week.