First Name: Dominik
Surname: Szoboszlai
Squad Number: 8
Position: Midfielder
D.O.B: 25.10.2000.
Town of Birth: Szekesfehervar
Country of Birth: Hungary
Nationality: Hungarian
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Is his town of birth pronounced as Shake Ass Forever?
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https://x.com/LewisSteele_/status/1830586159871021506
I’m reluctant to give any praise to a Liverpool player because of reasons well documented, especially the ones at https://www.premierinjuries.com/injury-table.php, but I’d like to point out this stat. Elliott will have a massive fight on his hands for that starting spot if Szoboszlai continues in this manner.
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We all saw how much Dom dropped off towards the end of last season. We will be playing 2 games a week / 3 every 8-10 days after the international break. Elliot will start games (but when it comes to the biggest games, agree, he will struggle).
Both Dom and Macca have thus far played every minute of our PL games. That’s a surprise, particularly for Macca.
Knowing that he operated mostly in a midfield 3 last season whereas now he has a double pivot operating behind him, this season might be different.
I think Slot said post-United that he operated Dom quite different to how he did in the first two matches, with him playing a more attacking game from the left with runs into the box.
It will be interesting to see both if he can stay fit for the season if he continues to run these kms per match, but also whether the tactical variety that Slot looks like he will employ with him, will help see him run out the entire season.
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LOL, but this looks way worse than it did in real time
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He was also injured and never really looked decent when he returned from that.
Especially the reaccurence.
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I don’t see improvement since he joined from Leipzig and the two injuries he had don’t work as and excuse for me anymore.
Good enough to be a Liverpool player but not good enough to be starting most games.
Wish Slot would put Endo next to Gravenberch and Alexis would play the 10.
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He certainly isn’t playing at the same level he did for his first few months. Don’t know if he is carrying a mystery knock or simply needs a lengthy rest, but he’s been below his best for months.
But he’s still a better player than Endo - and I am not one of those who knock the Japanese player unnecessarily- and the objective is to get the best players on the pitch in the best formation to maximise their talents.
Mac - Grav - Dom is still our strongest midfield.
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Like Jones or Elliot or even Chiesa fair enough but not sure where you got Endo from.
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I don’t! Endo is definitely not good enough to be a regular for Liverpool in PL and CL, and Mac Allister is already playing in his best role, in my opinion.
That said, I can’t disagree with you on your assessment of Szoboszlai’s progress since moving from Leipzig. He looks like a complete midfielder in the making but there is inconsistency from game to game and the goals and assists are still missing - and they would cover for some of his rough edges.
I was disappointed by his reaction to his missed sitter against Wolves (he played some sloppy passes in his half, tried some tricky ones without looking where his teammates were - though he wasn’t the only culprit, Konate and Salah lost possession at least twice each by playing some poor passes in their own half), so I expected that Slot would replace him.
Even Slot has already spoken about how he expected Szoboszlai to improve his numbers - the role he’s playing simply demands that. I like that he never hides, that he covers a lot of ground and generally makes himself an option to receive the ball from his teammates. However, he still plays as a water carrier, rather than the main man, so the issue might be psychological, rather than some injury or fatigue like last season.
It’s a shame that Elliott got injured at this point of the season, he might have provided much needed competition for Szoboszlai, especially in the case he carried over his pre-season form to competitive games.
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I don’t know why we need to start whipping up a new whipping boy. Can’t we get through a season without painting a target on one player’s back?
Dom himself will be the first to admit he’s been a bit sloppy in possession, but he’s not the only one. Players like Mo and Robbo have spent the early season making non-pressured passes look impossibly difficult to make.
Can we just chalk up this early-season form from the likes of Dom, Mo and Robbo as just early season rustiness and let the season unfold instead of the fans making the player’s form worse by putting additional pressure on them?
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I think it’s far from making him a whipping boy. He will never get what our legendary whipping boys like Lucas or Hendo got. I think it’s more of a challenge to him to make that step up from a very good player to a world class one.
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A friend whose opinion I value told me he thought Dom was having a quietly excellent season, doing a lot of the running and dirty work that is enabling the team to be as successful as it currently is.
I’m not sure I wholly agree, but just goes to show that different people can see different things in a player’s performance.
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He sort of reminds me of Wijnaldum a little bit, except Gini would literally plug holes in the side, as well as covering all areas of the pitch. Szoboszali is covering a lot of ground in the middle to final thirds of the pitch for his pressing and blocking passing lanes. His attacking contribution feels a little disjointed for the position he takes in the team. Does his defensive work offset his attacking output? I guess that’s the debate around his form.
If he can improve his technical abilities and decision-making when attacking with the ball, we’ll have an absolute monster on our hands.
I actually think he’s having a good season but he’s the kind of player who can be much better, much more decisive in the final third.
By a turn of circumstances, I saw a lot of him for Hungary, though I’m not sure what his club was back then. He’s always been an impressive talent in the final third, that’s how he caught my attention.
When Liverpool signed him, I thought he was going to be the creative fulcrum of the side but so far he’s looked closer to Wijnaldum - which isn’t a bad thing to be as a football player but this side needs more than that.
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I agree with your friend, there many facets to aplayers performances that are beneficial to the team.
Just imagine if he could then improve his passing
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