Champions League: Liverpool and Spurs triumph, Chelsea lose

Football writer David Coverdale reports on the Matchday 6 action for Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League.

San Siro success is a boost for Slot

Inter Milan 0-1 Liverpool

Liverpool put their recent troubles behind them with a morale-boosting victory at the home of last season’s Champions League runners-up.

It was just the second win in seven games in all competitions for Arne Slot’s struggling side. And it has reignited the Reds’ hopes of qualifying automatically for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Liverpool now have 12 points and are eighth in the table, exactly where they need to be to guarantee their spot in the next round, although they are likely to move back down the standings after Wednesday’s fixtures.

"We were three points behind Inter and if you want top eight, 15 is the minimum you need," said Liverpool boss Slot, speaking to Amazon Prime.

"The best you can do is win over here. They have a really good team. Overall, it was a good performance from us."

The build-up to the match had been dominated by the saga surrounding Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian was left out of Liverpool’s travelling squad following his remarks after last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United, when he questioned his future at the club.

On Salah, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Amazon Prime: "I'm not the one to speak [about] if someone has to apologise. It's him airing his feelings for the past couple of days. That's something the club has to deal with.

"The reality also is that Mo is going to Africa soon [for the Africa Cup of Nations]. I've known him for such a long time. We are good friends and have been through highs and lows together. We speak but those things will stay [between us], as it should be."

Salah’s absence was one of the reasons why Slot was able to name only eight out of a possible 12 substitutes for the clash with Inter. And of those, there were only three senior outfield players – 22-year-olds Conor Bradley, Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz.

All three of those started at Leeds and it was perhaps a surprise to see Wirtz on the bench in the San Siro. But Slot opted for a new 4-1-2-1-2 formation, with new strikers Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike paired together for just the second time – their only previous outing together coming in October's 5-1 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Liverpool performed well in their new structure against Inter and were unlucky not to open the scoring in the first half. Ibrahima Konate was the man who headed the ball into the net and the centre-back could really have done with it being allowed to stand, given the recent criticism of his performances, with even Slot saying he has been "too much at the crime scene" of the goals his side have conceded.

However, Konate's redemption goal was ruled out by VAR because the ball had struck the hand of Ekitike on his way to him from Dominik Szoboszlai's corner.

Despite the disappointment, Slot will have been aware that his side had won their previous five Champions League games that had been goalless at half-time. And he kept that run going as this time Liverpool got the right side of a VAR call when Alessandro Bastoni was adjudged to have pulled the shirt of substitute Wirtz.

In the absence of regular penalty taker Salah, it was Szoboszlai who stepped up to the spot and scored in the 88th minute to secure a welcome three points for the Reds.

Slot will be hoping for more of the same when Brighton & Hove Albion visit Anfield on Saturday.

Simons scores again as Spurs legend Son returns in the stands

Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Slavia Prague

Spurs secured another win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to keep alive their hopes of an automatic place in the last 16.

Thomas Frank’s side achieved their first home Premier League victory since the opening day of the season when they beat Brentford last weekend. But in Europe, they have been dominant on their own turf this campaign, with this thrashing of Slavia Prague meaning they have now won all three of their home matches in the league phase without conceding.

Spurs are now ninth in the Champions League table and still have a chance of finishing in the top eight to avoid a knockout phase play-off.

Before kick-off on Tuesday, there was a moving moment when Spurs legend Son Heung-min was presented on the pitch.

Son did not get the chance to bid a proper farewell when he left the club to join Los Angeles FC in August. He was invited back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday to say goodbye to supporters before kick-off against Slavia Prague.

"I hope you guys don’t forget me," said Son, addressing the crowd. That seems unlikely to happen - earlier, he had visited a new mural painted in his honour outside the ground.

"I will always be Spurs," Son added. "This will always be my home. Come on you Spurs.”

Son then warmly greeted his former team-mates as they lined up in the tunnel before their final Champions League match of the calendar year.

Watch Son address the crowd on his return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

And Son was all smiles again in the stands when Spurs notched their 100th Champions League goal in the 26th minute, as Slavia defender David Zima headed into his own net after Cristian Romero flicked on Pedro Porro's corner.

Porro was also involved in Spurs' second goal, winning a penalty in the 50th minute when he was clattered in the box by Youssoupha Sanyang.

Richarlison surprisingly passed the penalty responsibilities over to Mohammed Kudus, who powered in his third goal for Spurs and his first in this season’s Champions League.

Spurs players celebrate Kudus' goal with his trademark seated celebration

A second Spurs penalty soon followed after Xavi Simons was fouled by Igoh Ogbu. And it was Simons who tucked away the spot-kick for his second goal in as many games, after he opened his Spurs account in stunning style against Brentford.

"He built on a good game on Saturday and produced again," Spurs boss Frank said about Simons.

"[He has] good link-up play, nice turns in the middle of the pitch, and has the acceleration to go past a player.

"I like his work ethic and there was a great recovery run on 90 minutes which is crucial for us."

Frank will hope the Netherlands winger can continue his form when his team visit Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Chelsea let lead slip as winless run continues

Atalanta 2-1 Chelsea

Chelsea’s poor recent run continued as their hopes of automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16 took a hit.

The Blues have picked up just two points from their last three Premier League matches, losing to Leeds and drawing at AFC Bournemouth last week. And Enzo Maresca's men made it four games without a win in all competitions with this defeat to Atalanta, who came from behind to win with two goals in the second half.

Chelsea are now 11th in the Champions League table with 10 points, with Atalanta leapfrogging them and climbing up to third.
The Blues face Pafos at home and Napoli away in their final two matches, likely requiring two wins to give themselves any chance of a top-eight finish, which would guarantee their spot in the last 16.

"I am always worried [about the form]," admitted Maresca. "Two points in four games is not what we expect and we have to do better.

"We are playing every two days. For a moment we looked like we struggled a bit. Now it's about trying to win the next game. We just want to win as soon as possible."

As ever, Maresca was not shy in shaking up his starting line-up, making five changes from the goalless draw at Bournemouth.

Joao Pedro was one of those brought back into the XI and he took just 25 minutes to justify his selection when he slid in to meet Reece James' low cross from the left.

The Brazilian was initially flagged offside but, after a lengthy VAR check, he was awarded his fifth goal of the season and his first in the Champions League.

For Joao Pedro, it was a timely strike given the recent scrutiny on his performances in Chelsea’s three-match winless run in the Premier League. With his fellow forward Liam Delap set to be out for up to a month with a shoulder injury, Joao Pedro will be expected to start when seventh-place Everton visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

But if his goal was a boost to their attacking issues, Chelsea's defensive frailties were exposed in the second half in Italy.

First, former West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca was left completely unmarked to head in a cross from Charles De Ketelaere.

And it was the in-form Belgian forward De Ketelaere who scored the second goal himself, running at the Blues' backline and then taking a shot which deflected off Marc Cucurella and flew past Robert Sanchez to win it for Atalanta.

This result further highlighted Chelsea’s poor form on their European travels. They have now lost four of their last five Champions League away games, last winning on the road in the competition in October 2022.