The midfielder's air-kick handed the League One opponent an easy goal and a route back into the game at 2-0 down. Thankfully, the Reds still managed to progress with a 4-1 win.
22:22, 12 Jan 2026Updated 22:41, 12 Jan 2026
Dominik Szoboszlai puts his hands on hos knees as Adam Phillips runs away in celebration
Arne Slot was left angered by Dominik Szoboszlai's bizarre error that led to Barnsley's goal in the FA Cup tie(Image: )
Arne Slot could barely hide his frustration at Dominik Szoboszlai's error that led to Barnsley's goal in Liverpool's 4-1 FA Cup win on Monday.
Just five minutes before the break, the Hungarian appeared to try and flick the ball with the sole of his foot back to goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili from a few yards out. Instead, a bizarre air-kick saw him miss the ball entirely and it rolled for Adam Phillips to easily slot into the net.
It turned into a controversial moment, with Barnsley head coach Conor Hourihane claiming it was disrespectful from Szoboszlai, while Steve MacManaman and Joleon Lescott in the TNT Sports studio echoed that sentiment and stated Liverpool's no.8 would not have tried that in a Premier League match.
After the game, a stony Slot was clearly not impressed when asked about the incident.
"I don’t think you should do that in an FA Cup game, a League Cup, a friendly game or in a training session," he told TNT Sports.
"It’s a weird choice. I also have my opinion on it but I prefer to keep that to myself and to speak about that with Dom."
Hourinhane had previously said: "I was a little bit disappointed with our goal, to be honest. I don't think the player does that against Chelsea or Arsenal or in a Champions League game, so I was a little bit disappointed with that.
Asked if he felt it was disrespectful, the former Aston Villa midfielder replied: "Yeah, potentially."
Speaking after the game, Szoboszlai apologized for the peculiar moment. "Sorry for the team; I made it hard for us with an easy mistake," he said. "Football happens. We move on and take the next round."
The oddity of Szoboszlai's complete lack of judgement came after he had been superb in the opening 40 minutes, a performance that was encapsulated by his sublime goal from all of 30 yards.
The 25-year-old rocketed a shot into the back of the net to open the scoring after nine minutes, and was his usual energetic presence in the opening half.
He moved to right-back after the break and was involved in another high-profile incident when Barnsley felt he tripped winger Reyes Cleary inside the box. A penalty was not awarded, however, and with no VAR in use, the decision stood.
Article continues below
Meanwhile, goals from Szoboszlai, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike saw Liverpool progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup, where it will face Brighton & Hove Albion.