Dominik Szoboszlai put himself in the spotlight during Monday’s FA Cup tie against Barnsley after delivering both the sublime and the ridiculous.
The Hungarian was part of a strong line-up named by Arne Slot, and quickly repaid his selection with a thunderous early effort.
Szoboszlai barely celebrated his goal, in an early sign that he was set to take the League One opposition perhaps a little too lightly.
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Worse was soon to follow, as the Hungarian inexplicably attempted a backheel inside his own six yard box. Former Liverpool academy player Adam Phillips couldn’t believe his luck as he tucked the loose ball into the net.
It was an unbelievably arrogant moment from Szoboszlai, and one which will not be quickly forgotten at Anfield. Rightly so, the No. 8 received plenty of criticism, with former Red Steve McManaman leading the charge against him.
Dominik Szoboszlai disrespected Barnsley
The gulf in class between Liverpool and Barnsley was always going to be big on Monday. Once the starting XIs were revealed, that gap widened even further.
Perhaps going ahead so early on into the game gave Szoboszlai the feeling that this would be an easy night at the office. Whether that was true or not, McManaman made the point that he would absolutely not have done what he did against a top Premier League side.
Adam Phillips celebrates after scoring for Barnsley during the FA Cup tie with Liverpool at Anfield
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“I just don’t like that at all,” the former winger fumed at half-time on TNT Sports.
“I know the lads are saying it’s a mistake, I don’t like that. You never, ever do that in any walk of life, in any game of football. He’d never do that against Arsenal, he’d never do that against Man City, why’s he doing it against Barnsley? I don’t know.
“You don’t do that in those areas, that’s a massive mistake. I don’t like that.”
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Florian Wirtz celebrates with Hugo Ekitike after scoring for Liverpool in the FA Cup against Barnsley at Anfield (Credit: Getty Images/Jan Kruger).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Jan Kruger
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That Szoboszlai chose that moment – and that opposition – to do his little trick against, was pure disrespect to Barnsley. It has absolutely no place in this Liverpool team.
Szoboszlai needs to cut out the silly mistakes
Szoboszlai has quite clearly been Liverpool’s best player this season. In fact, it has not been especially close between any of his teammates.
Having said that, it was not a surprise that the 25-year-old was the player guilty of trying a backheel in his own six yard box with someone hot on his heels.
He is capable of the brilliant – as he showed with his fantastic early hit – but he also has another side of his game which rears its head far too often.
Szoboszlai is slack in possession, and he often attempts needless flicks at inopportune moments of matches. He never hides and often atones for his errors, but he has been guilty of putting Liverpool under pressure from nowhere so many times this season.
Hopefully Monday’s mistake is the reality check he needs. Szoboszlai is on his way to being a supreme footballer for Liverpool, but if he could just stop these moments of madness, he would go to a whole new level still.
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