Dominik Szoboszlai’s late penalty was enough for Liverpool to take three points over Inter Milan, but there was a heated debate over whether to award the spot-kick after a contest with Florian Wirths.
Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu has insisted his team must “learn to accept” moments like the second-half penalty awarded to Liverpool at the San Siro on Wednesday. Florian Wirtz went down under a challenge from Alessandro Bastoni, and referee Felix Zweier pointed to the spot after a VAR check, allowing Dominik Szoboszlai to score and give Liverpool three points.
It was a brutal end to the game for the hosts, who lost Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Acerbi to injuries in the first half. Kivu was reluctant to comment too much on the penalty, but his mention of “injustice” perhaps tells you something about his feelings.
“I rarely comment on referee decisions,” the Romanian told Sky Sports Italia. “I talk about education and what to teach people, especially in the Champions League.
“The referee was in a good position to understand the whole incident and decided that it was not worth awarding a penalty.
“When VAR intervenes, we have to understand the flow of the game. We have to accept the decision, learn to fight against injustice, be more alert to these things and try to focus on the good we can do.”
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Former England manager Fabio Capello was less generous in his assessment. “This is a scandalous penalty,” he said.
“I don’t understand why VAR had to intervene when the referee saw everything and did the obvious simulation of throwing himself to the ground.”
Inter star Henrikh Mkhitaryan added: “I don’t know how they came up with a penalty that doesn’t exist, but this is football and we are not happy. If they give a penalty like this, every contact in the box is a penalty.”
With the win, Liverpool now have 12 points from six games in the league phase of this season’s Champions League. They have already completed the toughest four games on paper, with Marseille and Qarabag awaiting them in the new year.
After the match, Slott spoke to Prime Video Sport about the need for defensive solidity following Liverpool’s heavy home defeat to PSV Eindhoven on their last trip to Europe.
“I think I said it several times against (Nottingham) Forest and against PSV, we conceded seven goals and it’s time to concede fewer goals,” the manager said.
“West Ham kept a clean sheet. Sunderland’s first chance was in the 96th minute because their goal wasn’t even a chance. Leeds scored three. Tonight I saw a performance from a team that worked hard and showed resilience, because tonight the goal we scored in the first half could have been a goal on another night.”
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