Slot triumphs in huge test as Reds' team spirit shines

A penalty to win it at San Siro. Perhaps Mohamed Salah, wherever he was watching it, reflected that he could have been taking it. Instead, with the Egyptian in exile, it was despatched brilliantly by Dominik Szoboszlai, who first took his spot on the right wing and now his role as the spot-kick specialist.

- RICHARD JOLLY

This was a brilliant win for Arne Slot, a brilliant night for Liverpool. Salah missed it, missed the chance to secure a famous victory. Because what started out as the calm after the storm, a quietly ordered performance, became something more. Liverpool have beaten Arsenal and Real Madrid, but the context made this their best result of the season.

Generous as the award of the penalty was, it produced an endorsement of a beleaguered manager. Internazionale, Champions League finalists last season, unbeaten in 18 group-stage games at San Siro, were defeated by the depleted. Slot showed he could win in Milan without Salah; without a host of others, too. His name echoed from the top tiers of one of Europe's great grounds, chanted by the Liverpool supporters. In a week when Slot has been tested, he emerged triumphant and popular.

"The fans sing for me, that means a lot," he added. And while he said it was not about him, Salah ensured it was. Slot drew a response from his players. Each performed in a manner to suggest that he, unlike Salah, still has a relationship with the head coach. There was a collective commitment, players putting the team first. No one was thrown under the bus, though some seemed willing to throw themselves in front of shots. Liverpool looked less like a club in crisis than a team with a point to prove.

Slot showed his flexibility. This was an old-school European performance. It had the air of an away game overseen by Rafa Benitez or Gerard Houllier, not Slot.