Going into Inter vs. Liverpool: Reds in crisis as Salah row erupts
While Inter are brimming with confidence after a 4-0 win over Cesc Fabregas’ Como, their next Champions League opponents Liverpool are in crisis with a 3-3 draw at Leeds United and Mo Salah slamming coach Arne Slot.
The two clubs will meet at San Siro on Tuesday evening in the Champions League, and are going to be in very different moods going into this showdown.
Inter ran riot against Como for a 4-0 victory tonight, crushing what had been the best defence in Serie A, a side that had never conceded more than one goal this season.
Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram, Hakan Calhanoglu and Carlos Augusto were on target in the rout, which temporarily put them top of the table.
Inter flying, Liverpool crashing to the ground
On the other hand, Liverpool look a shadow of the side that dominated the Premier League last season and there are growing reports Slot could be set for the chop.
They scraped one win in their last six competitive matches, 2-0 away to West Ham United, along with three losses and back-to-back draws.
The Reds thought they had done enough away to Leeds United when fumbling a 2-0 lead and restoring it for 3-2, but Ao Tanaka scored with the last kick of the game to give Leeds a 3-3 draw.
Their biggest problems were yet to come, as ex-Roma and Fiorentina star Salah was furious that he had been dropped from the starting XI for the third game running, and remained on the bench throughout the match, alongside Italy international Federico Chiesa.
“I think it is very clear that somebody wants me to take all the blame,” Salah told reporters in the mixed zone.
“I’ve said a few times before that I have a good relationship with the manager and now all of a sudden we have no relationship. I don’t know why.
“It seems like the club are throwing me under the bus – that’s how I feel. This club, I will always support it. My kids will always support it. I love the club so much and I always will.
“It [the situation] is not acceptable to me, to be fair. I don’t get it. It’s like I’m being thrown more under the bus. I don’t think I’m the problem.
“I have done so much for this club. I don’t have to fight every day for my position because I earn it. I earned my position.”
Salah is now widely expected to leave for the Saudi Pro League in January, and could be signed by ex-Inter coach Simone Inzaghi at Al-Hilal.
The Egypt international has not started a match for Liverpool since their 4-1 Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven on November 26.
Liverpool are an all or nothing team in the Champions League this season, earning three wins over Atletico Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Real Madrid, and two defeats to Galatasaray and PSV.
Inter had won their first three in the tournament before a last-gasp 2-1 loss away to Atletico Madrid.