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Dominik Szoboszlai offers Liverpool more than goals and assists – but he’s shown he can fulfil Arne Slot’s demands

Dominik Szoboszlai offers Liverpool more than goals and assists – but he’s shown he can fulfil Arne Slot’s demands

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It may have seemed harsh as Arne Slot insisted Dominik Szoboszlai’s “numbers need to go up,” but the Liverpool midfielder’s performance against AC Milan was the perfect response.

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

In the buildup to Liverpool’s first Champions League game in 18 months, Arne Slot was informed that, if he were to feature against AC Milan, it would mark Dominik Szoboszlai‘s 50th appearance for the club.

The head coach was asked to assess the importance of one of only three players who had played every minute of his previous four games in charge, alongside Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.

“He’s been important for us, especially until now in our work when we don’t have the ball. He’s been outstanding in his pressing game,” he told journalists at the San Siro.

“I think something that we have to work on with him is that he’s also even more involved in scoring goals and creating chances for us. Last season he scored three [in the league] if I remember correctly and for an attacking midfielder at Liverpool his numbers need to go up.

“But I’m really happy with the way he’s done until now and I’m 100 percent sure that if he plays in a team with so much quality around him, with the quality he has he will in the end score more goals for us as well.”

Szoboszlai player traits

After two-and-a-half months at the helm, supporters have become accustomed to the straight-talking nature of Liverpool’s new head coach.

In a sport plagued by mind games and media politics it is refreshing, but Slot’s approach has also attracted criticism – such as in explaining Jarell Quansah’s half-time substitution against Ipswich.

His comments on Szoboszlai could certainly be seen as harsh, with the 23-year-old admittedly poor in the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest which preceded Slot’s press conference, but otherwise key to Liverpool’s strong start to the campaign.

Though he was yet to score, the Hungarian had already laid on two assists, with Mohamed Salah (three) the only player to set up more and only Salah (six) and Luis Díaz (four) having a hand in more goals.

Szoboszlai is also tied with Trent Alexander-Arnold with the most chances created for Liverpool in the league (11) and behind only Salah and Alexander-Arnold for big chances created (two).

Marrying that with his relentless pressing game and the No. 8 could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved at Slot’s constructive criticism.

However, that clearly speaks to the potential the head coach sees in a player Jürgen Klopp pushed so fervently to sign from RB Leipzig a year ago, convincing the club to part ways with £65 million to pay his release clause.

Jorg Schmadtke, who was acting as interim sporting director at the time solely to execute Klopp’s transfer plans, felt the fee was too costly.

“I said: ‘It’s too expensive’,” Schmadtke later reflected, before adding: “From today’s perspective, that was a misjudgment on my part.”

Slot has unwavering faith in Szoboszlai but also stringently high standards, with the 46-year-old of the belief that his most advanced midfielder should be contributing with goals and assists as frequently as any of his three forwards.

That was the case at Feyenoord, where Calvin Stengs scored eight goals and laid on 18 assists in 43 appearances in Slot’s final season in charge – only striker Santiago Giménez, with 26 goals and eight assists in 41 games, made more goal contributions.

Averaging one goal contribution every 180 minutes in his first four games under Slot and one every 245.8 minutes in is maiden campaign on Merseyside, it is fair to say Szoboszlai is not as prolific as his head coach wants.

He certainly responded well, though, with a tireless performance as Liverpool fought back for a 3-1 victory over AC Milan at the San Siro.

Defenders Van Dijk (80), Kostas Tsimikas (74) and Ibrahima Konaté (70) were the only Reds players to have more touches than Szoboszlai (61), who also had the third-most shots on goal (three) and, crucially, scored one of those.

Alexander-Arnold may have needed to ask his teammate if he had meant it after he turned Cody Gakpo‘s drilled cross in, but replays showed it was a deft, intentional finish.

No players ended the game with a higher rate of xG than Szoboszlai (0.80), with the quality of his shots leading to a rate of 1.27 xGOT.

Those underlying stats will be paramount for Slot and his staff, but a goal to add to his two previous assists is the most straightforward way for the midfielder to get his numbers up.

Perhaps all it needed was a gentle coaxing from the boss, as though it may have seemed harsh, Slot won’t have been the first coach to recognise the importance of both the carrot and the stick.

(Images from IMAGO)

To keep up to date with everything Liverpool, make sure you click follow on the team profile in the FotMob app. Download the free app here.

Dominik Szoboszlai offers Liverpool more than goals and assists – but he’s shown he can fulfil Arne Slot’s demands

It may have seemed harsh as Arne Slot insisted Dominik Szoboszlai’s “numbers need to go up,” but the Liverpool midfielder’s performance against AC Milan was the perfect response.

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

In the buildup to Liverpool’s first Champions League game in 18 months, Arne Slot was informed that, if he were to feature against AC Milan, it would mark Dominik Szoboszlai‘s 50th appearance for the club.

The head coach was asked to assess the importance of one of only three players who had played every minute of his previous four games in charge, alongside Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.

“He’s been important for us, especially until now in our work when we don’t have the ball. He’s been outstanding in his pressing game,” he told journalists at the San Siro.

“I think something that we have to work on with him is that he’s also even more involved in scoring goals and creating chances for us. Last season he scored three [in the league] if I remember correctly and for an attacking midfielder at Liverpool his numbers need to go up.

“But I’m really happy with the way he’s done until now and I’m 100 percent sure that if he plays in a team with so much quality around him, with the quality he has he will in the end score more goals for us as well.”

Szoboszlai player traits

After two-and-a-half months at the helm, supporters have become accustomed to the straight-talking nature of Liverpool’s new head coach.

In a sport plagued by mind games and media politics it is refreshing, but Slot’s approach has also attracted criticism – such as in explaining Jarell Quansah’s half-time substitution against Ipswich.

His comments on Szoboszlai could certainly be seen as harsh, with the 23-year-old admittedly poor in the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest which preceded Slot’s press conference, but otherwise key to Liverpool’s strong start to the campaign.

Though he was yet to score, the Hungarian had already laid on two assists, with Mohamed Salah (three) the only player to set up more and only Salah (six) and Luis Díaz (four) having a hand in more goals.

Szoboszlai is also tied with Trent Alexander-Arnold with the most chances created for Liverpool in the league (11) and behind only Salah and Alexander-Arnold for big chances created (two).

Marrying that with his relentless pressing game and the No. 8 could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved at Slot’s constructive criticism.

However, that clearly speaks to the potential the head coach sees in a player Jürgen Klopp pushed so fervently to sign from RB Leipzig a year ago, convincing the club to part ways with £65 million to pay his release clause.

Jorg Schmadtke, who was acting as interim sporting director at the time solely to execute Klopp’s transfer plans, felt the fee was too costly.

“I said: ‘It’s too expensive’,” Schmadtke later reflected, before adding: “From today’s perspective, that was a misjudgment on my part.”

Slot has unwavering faith in Szoboszlai but also stringently high standards, with the 46-year-old of the belief that his most advanced midfielder should be contributing with goals and assists as frequently as any of his three forwards.

That was the case at Feyenoord, where Calvin Stengs scored eight goals and laid on 18 assists in 43 appearances in Slot’s final season in charge – only striker Santiago Giménez, with 26 goals and eight assists in 41 games, made more goal contributions.

Averaging one goal contribution every 180 minutes in his first four games under Slot and one every 245.8 minutes in is maiden campaign on Merseyside, it is fair to say Szoboszlai is not as prolific as his head coach wants.

He certainly responded well, though, with a tireless performance as Liverpool fought back for a 3-1 victory over AC Milan at the San Siro.

Defenders Van Dijk (80), Kostas Tsimikas (74) and Ibrahima Konaté (70) were the only Reds players to have more touches than Szoboszlai (61), who also had the third-most shots on goal (three) and, crucially, scored one of those.

Alexander-Arnold may have needed to ask his teammate if he had meant it after he turned Cody Gakpo‘s drilled cross in, but replays showed it was a deft, intentional finish.

No players ended the game with a higher rate of xG than Szoboszlai (0.80), with the quality of his shots leading to a rate of 1.27 xGOT.

Those underlying stats will be paramount for Slot and his staff, but a goal to add to his two previous assists is the most straightforward way for the midfielder to get his numbers up.

Perhaps all it needed was a gentle coaxing from the boss, as though it may have seemed harsh, Slot won’t have been the first coach to recognise the importance of both the carrot and the stick.

(Images from IMAGO)

To keep up to date with everything Liverpool, make sure you click follow on the team profile in the FotMob app. Download the free app here.