‘We Struggled’ – Arne Slot Admits Inter Star Gave Liverpool A Hard Time
Slot says Liverpool 'struggled more and more' against the Inter ace.
Giuseppe Labellarte
Updated on 12 December 2025
Arne Slot has admitted that Liverpool were given a hard time by Inter star Manuel Akanji in Tuesday night’s Champions League clash between the two sides.
Liverpool ‘struggled more and more’ against Inter’s Manuel Akanji
Inter fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool at San Siro, the visitors scoring the winner late on due to a controversial VAR decision.
Alessandro Bastoni’s shirt pull on Florian Wirtz in the box led to Liverpool being awarded a penalty.
Reds midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up and duly converted.
Inter keeper Yann Sommer dived the right way, but the spot kick was too powerful for him to keep the ball out.
But while plenty of Nerazzurri players disappointed on the night, Akanji played very well.
Indeed, Liverpool boss Arne slot had to make technical adjustments at half time to counter Akanji’s movement into midfield.
And speaking after the game, Slot admitted that the Switzerland international gave them a hard time.
“In the first half we tried to keep a plus one in and around our last line,” Slot told the Liverpool media team.
“But after the substitutions they made we struggled more and more with Akanji in the middle, who dribbled into the midfield.
Btw, the L shouldn’t make Interisti forget Manuel Akanji’s great peformance vs. Liverpool.
4 clearances
6 recoveries
2 blocked shots
1 interceptionBRICK-WALL. 🧱🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/h11dV0A6y2
— Shano ⭐️⭐️ (@fcimshano) December 10, 2025
“So, we said during half-time, we have to be more aggressive in our press, we’re going to go more one-v-one.
“Then, of course, it is important your midfield sprints back if they play over you. But it was the same for our attackers.”
Akanji has been a success story at Inter since his loan move from Manchester City in the summer.
Indeed, San Siro cult hero Paul Ince could not believe that Man City let Akanji go to Inter.
How Manuel Akanji reacted to controversial penalty
Akanji did not appreciate the spot kick awarded to Liverpool. He deemed it “one of the softest penalties I’ve ever seen”.
However, also admitted that Inter shouldn’t have let themselves get into a position where the officials were forced into making a decision so late on in the game.
“It’s tough because in the end we’ve come away with zero points… I think we were the better team,” Akanji told CBS.
“We had the better chances and in the end, to concede a penalty like this is tough. It’s tough to lose a game like this.”
The result means Inter slip to fifth in the Champions League table, having lost their last two in the competition.
Giuseppe Labellarte
Giuseppe Labellarte is a sports journalist with over a decade of professional experience in the industry. His main professional expertise is in soccer. Prior to joining FootItalia, he worked for the likes of Sports Mole, TBR Football, the Chelsea Chronicle and numerous other sites, along with having bylines in the likes of the Nottingham Post. He holds degrees in Journalism and International Relations.
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