Liverpool emerged with all three points from a difficult Premier League clash against Wolves at Molineux Stadium.
The Reds moved above Manchester City to reach the summit of the league table, but it was still an evening to forget for Dominik Szoboszlai.The Hungarian missed a glorious opportunity to put his team in front inside the opening 45 minutes and struggled to deal with the energy of Wolves’ engine room.
His poor performance was brought to an end in the 73rd minute when he was replaced by Curtis Jones. The £120,000-per-week ace’s reaction to seeing his number on the board was negative as he was seen shaking his head in frustration. It’s unclear if this was exasperation at his own display, or if he felt he had more to offer his team.
Nonetheless, it was an occasion to forget for the all-action midfielder.Dominik Szoboszlai’s Game by NumbersHe missed a glaring opportunity to open the scoringIt was a tough night for the Hungary captain, and this is shown in the statistics behind his performance. Szoboszlai had little impact on the attacking play of his side, despite Arne Slot’s recent admission that the 23-year-old must increase his productivity in front of goal.
Many believed he’d opened his Premier League scoring account for the Reds after breaking into the box and making a connection with Andy Robertson’s cross.
However, his shot somehow stayed out of the net as Sam Johnstone’s leg was enough to direct the ball past the post, resulting in a big chance missed for the midfielder.From that one opportunity, the ex-RB Leipzig star generated an xG of 0.75.
Not only was he unfortunate in the penalty area, but Szoboszlai was only able to complete 84% of his attempted passes as Slot’s side consistently gave the ball away in poor positions.
Wolves aren’t the most deadly team in the division, meaning these errors weren’t punished in the way they could have been. Of his four attempted ground duels, the man in red only came away with the ball twice, proving Liverpool lost the midfield battle on too many occasions.
Other Midfielders Waiting to Take His PlaceCurtis Jones replaced Szoboszlai against WolvesSlot is blessed with a number of gifted midfield players at his disposal. Szoboszlai has been operating in a more advanced role ahead of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch this season, but his position could soon come under pressure.
Harvey Elliott will likely have seen more game time in this busy period, but the young Englishman suffered a broken foot.Another of Liverpool’s England youth internationals, Curtis Jones, was brought on in Szoboszlai’s place in the second half.
The Scouser will have his eyes on a return to the starting line-up after an impressive showing in the EFL Cup against West Ham last time out. Under Jurgen Klopp, Jones was often utilised in a deeper role, but he started his career in more advanced positions. One of the key players of Slot’s short Anfield career to date – Mac Allister – also has a history of playing in the role just behind the striker.
He wears number 10 on his back and could certainly do a job in the ‘number 10’ position if handed the opportunity in the coming weeks. The World Cup-winning midfielder showed at Brighton that his technical ability makes him more than competent in a variety of roles.
Szoboszlai ‘Hasn’t Delivered’ For Liverpool YetTime is still on his side to improveOne fan was prompted into stating they believe Szoboszlai ‘hasn’t delivered yet’ in an attacking sense for the Reds.
Having joined from RB Leipzig for £60 million in 2023, the Liverpool number eight hasn’t reached the heights expected to date, but he’s still young enough to make the necessary improvements.
Klopp showed a lot of faith in the young midfielder after bringing him in to replace Jordan Henderson at the heart of the team. Szoboszlai struggled with injury issues after playing almost every minute of the opening few months of the 2023/24 season.
Slot will need to be wary of a repeat as there has been little rotation in the starting XI at Anfield this term A spell on the bench may even be to the player’s benefit, as he is withdrawn from outside scrutiny, and he can recharge his batteries ahead of a long season.
Szoboszlai has only found the net eight times for his current employers and everyone involved will be hoping these numbers vastly improve over the course of Slot’s first season in England.
