That’s exactly what Liverpool fans have seen in their first few months at the club. Szoboszlai was outstanding and did everything Liverpool lacked from their previous midfielders. He created chances, put himself in dangerous goal-scoring situations and even contributed to victories with goals, assists and penalties. But Szoboszlai’s influence at Liverpool has waned in recent weeks. Especially in the last third. So what is “wrong”? What did you like? In his first start for Liverpool, Dominik Szoboszlai created a whole new dimension to Liverpool’s midfield.
He gained strength and continued to impress in dangerous areas of the pitch. No player has scored more goals from inside the penalty area than Liverpool’s Hungarian (six) in their first four Premier League games. He also had the most dribble attempts (7) and the most shot attempts (18). Before the international break in November, only Mohamed Salah had created more chances for Liverpool than Szoboszlai, 28. With those numbers and Szoboszlai’s involvement in goals (goals, assists or wins), it was hard not to get excited about Liverpool’s new number 8 shirt. What happens? But Szoboszlai’s, who returned from the national team last November, looks like a completely different player. Since then he has created just four chances in five games, four with shots in the box and three with dribbles. From a creative perspective, Szoboszlai has averaged 2.4 shots per game in his last five Premier League games, according to FBref. However, before the November break, the average was 4.58 per game. Part of his decline in production may be due to his lack of presence. In his first 10 Premier League games, Szoboszlai had over 100 shots in four of them.
There has never been a performance like this in the last 7 games. A lot of this has to do with substitution. In the first 10 games, Klopp failed to beat Szoboslai once. In the next seven games, he played the full 90 minutes only once. Why did an error occur? The simple explanation is that Szoboszlai’s recent performances were due to fatigue. Someone in the Bundesliga is not necessarily as intense as in the Premier League.
This is especially true before the festival season. But this is not really supported by numbers or data. Szoboszlai outplayed Mohamed Salah in a pre-season milk test and is still getting plenty of results from the midfielder. His rebounding average over the last five games is 6.29 per 90, down from 7.33 over the first 12 games. What has changed instead is Szoboszlai’s position on the field. New role? After the international break in November, Liverpool made some changes to their system. While Trent Alexander-Arnold (when he was good) played in a “traditional” right-back role in the first 12 games, in the last five games he has consistently moved into the middle, and sometimes even into the middle. This affected Szoboszlai’s appearance on the field. Often, when Alexander-Arnold changes direction, the Hungarian is forced to drop back and cover his team-mate. Check out Szobiszlais heatmap against Manchester United, courtesy of whoScore. Given his characteristics, he looks more like a defender than a midfielder. His most common position on the court is just the touchline. This becomes clear if we compare Szoboszlai’s position with Alexander-Arnold in the same game. Liverpool’s vice-captain will be moved to a more central area, resulting in a vacancy. There are gaps that his partners must fill, and that task often falls on Szoboszlai’s shoulders. Making SZOBOSZLAI “cool” again Of course, given Szoboszlai’s new role in the system, it goes without saying that his creative and offensive numbers have dipped in recent weeks. It has become an important cog in the machine. But making him a cog in the system would be a waste of his talent. As fans saw at the start of the season, Szoboszlai, at his best, can single-handedly win games for Liverpool.But to thrive, you have to be able to keep going. One of his best performances for Liverpool came against Nottingham Forest. In that game, Szoboszlai recorded two assists and produced a Man of the Match display.
What was surprising about his heat book against Forest was how far he progressed up the pitch. If Liverpool are to get the best out of Szoboszlei again, Klopp will need to find a system that allows him to play freely in similar situations to the Hungarian. Last season, Szoboszlai played in a similar attacking position for RB Leipzig and was one of the best creators in the Bundesliga. He has shown he can do the same in the Premier League. But when he plays as deep as he has recently, he cannot be expected to produce the creative numbers he did for Liverpool.Not a quick fixGetting the best out of Liverpool’s current trio of Szoboszlai, Alexander-Arnold and Salah will be no easy task for Klopp. Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai’s are two players who thrive in very similar positions on the pitch. Klopp’s decision at this point was to “sacrifice” Szoboszlai so that Alexander-Arnold could thrive. But it doesn’t have to be that way. One option is to switch Hungarian to the left. This could solve Liverpool’s current left-right imbalance, which was clearly evident against Manchester United. Liverpool relied too much on attack and hustle down the right on Sunday. This makes it easier to read.
Dominic Szoboszlay has generated a lot of interest since joining Liverpool. He was unlike any midfielder Jurgen Klopp had signed before Hungary. He managed to score a goal and provide an assist. His arrival marks the start of a new era for Liverpool’s burgeoning midfielder.
