Jamie Carragher says Liverpool’s win at Inter Milan was “massive” for Arne Slot and showed the fans are behind him. The Champions League victory not only eased pressure on Slot after a public falling-out with Mohamed Salah, but also strengthened Liverpool’s position in the group, moving them into the top eight in the league phase.
On CBS, Carragher said he wanted Liverpool to win “more so for the manager for what he’s been through over the last few days.” He added he did not know Slot well but felt the supporters demonstrated their backing when they chanted the manager’s name in the first half at 0-0. Carragher called the result “massive,” noting San Siro is a tough place to get a result and Liverpool needed it after losing their previous home Champions League game to PSV. “I’m happy for him more than anything… I’m over the moon for him,” he said.
Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai converted the penalty that secured the 1-0 win. Slot declined to discuss Salah in detail; the forward was dropped after an extraordinary outburst following Saturday’s draw with Leeds. Slot said the late equaliser at Leeds had been hard to take, and the subsequent events had been emotional and had “cost maybe a little bit of energy.” He emphasised the squad’s resilience — four games in 10 days with 13 outfield players who have Premier League or Champions League experience — and insisted the focus should be on those who played in Milan.
Slot acknowledged the situation affects the dressing room because Salah is “so good, so, so, so influential” for the club and team-mates, and said it was never nice to see something like this happen to a team-mate. He suggested the first question is whether the player recognises he made a mistake, and posed whether the initiative to resolve the issue should come from the manager or the player. After the match he clarified he was not definitively saying Salah must make the first move, but reiterated that the players deserved discussion for their performance in the game, mentioning Virgil van Dijk as an example of who the fans were singing for.