Mkhitaryan lashed out at the refereeing after the defeat to Liverpool

Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, following the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the 6th round of the Champions League, spoke about the quality of the team's performance and the controversial penalty awarded.

According to Mkhitaryan, the match should have ended goalless:

“We could have played better, we had to create more chances. Overall, the match should have finished 0–0. I don’t know where they found that penalty. I didn’t see a foul. If every touch is going to be called a foul, where is football heading? — in some unclear direction.”

He also noted that the team had prepared for Liverpool in any lineup:

“We prepared to play both with Salah and without him. That’s their problem, but even without Salah, Liverpool played well.”

As a reminder, Mohamed Salah was left out of Liverpool’s squad due to a conflict with head coach Arne Slot.

Despite the defeat, Mkhitaryan urged the team to stay confident and keep fighting:

“We have to keep our heads high and work harder. It wasn’t our best match, but let’s not forget we were playing against a top-level team. In the remaining two rounds we’ll try to get two wins.”

The match took place on December 9 in Milan. Liverpool scored the winning goal in the 88th minute: the referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Bastoni on Wirtz, and the English side converted it confidently.

After six rounds, Inter sit 5th in the overall Champions League standings with 12 points and still retain a chance to reach the playoffs.