Dominik Szoboszlai made an unexpected joke to Steven Gerrard when the Liverpool legend asked whether they could play in the same team during an interview with TNT Sports
Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool smiling
Dominik Szoboszlai told Steven Gerrard what would happen if they played in the same team together(Image: Photo by Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Dominik Szoboszlai poked fun at Steven Gerrard during a recent interview with TNT Sports.
Former Liverpool captain and club legend Gerrard sat down with Szoboszlai for an exclusive chat with TNT Sports, and the versatile Reds midfielder delivered a cheeky jibe when asked how the two would fit together in the same lineup.
After Szoboszlai said his favorite position is a box-to-box 8, which allows him to drop deep and pick up the ball from defenders while also getting involved in the attack and taking shots on goal, Gerrard interjected, saying that was also his preferred position to play in.
That prompted Gerrard to ask whether they would fit in the same team, to which Szoboszlai joked: "I think so, because then I would go 10, or you would go 2,” suggesting Gerrard would be forced to play right-back if he was in the XI.
The 2 – more commonly known as the right-back – has been a point of contention at Liverpool ever since Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure for Real Madrid in June 2025.
Default option Jeremie Frimpong has yet to find his feet since joining the Reds, so Szoboszlai has been forced to deputize in the role at times. It’s the same sacrifice Gerrard made in his early days in the senior team, specifically under manager Gerard Houllier.
Because they have both been forced to play away from their preferred position in central midfield, Gerrard took no offense to Szoboszlai’s remark as he knew where he was coming from.
Dominik Szoboszlai speaking during an interview with TNT Sports
Szoboszlai sat down for an interview with Steven Gerrard(Image: TNT Sports)
In fact, questions have been raised over whether new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola will put Szoboszlai at right back if Frimpong’s struggles continue, but the Hungarian told Gerrard that he was informed he won’t be asked to do so.
"But, if he needs me there, I'm going to be available,” Szoboszlai said about Iraola asking him to play right back. “The only position I really didn't like was the 7."
Liverpool’s starting lineup is starting to take shape under Iraola, and the Spanish coach will be encouraged by the display he saw in last Friday’s 2-0 victory over Ipswich.
Other than Szoboszlai, who won Liverpool’s Player of the Season last year, two players who likely won’t be moving from the starting lineup any time soon are Gody Gakpo and Alexander Isak.
Gakpo has started the season in flying form, already registering a goal and three assists in the Reds’ opening three matches. Isak, meanwhile, got off the mark in the 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest before his quick-fire brace in the opening nine minutes at Portman Road in Gameweek 3.
It remains to be seen exactly where the new $166 million signing, Bradley Barcola, will fit in, given that his preference is to play off the left wing just like Gakpo.
One or both of Gakpo and Barcola may end up having to start on the right wing and join the long list of players who were forced to adapt to a new position in order to play, just like Szoboszlai and Gerrard did early in their Liverpool careers.