Andoni Iraola sat on bench
Andoni Iraola sat on bench
Iraola's side slipped to a 3-2 defeat to Fenerbahce in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
The Reds are still yet to win an away match against Turkish opposition in European football and are now winless in 90 minutes in their last three games.
Szoboszlai, 26, has earned plaudits across football for his exploits on Merseyside over the last 18 months.
The Hungarian started in Istanbul in midweek but struggled to impress, similar to how he has failed to make an impact in recent months.
Iraola may be tempted to hand him a successive starting berth when they face Crystal Palace this weekend, now that he is fully fit, but should clearly stick with the vice-captain sat on the bench for the time being.
Dominik Szoboszlai is in shocking form and cannot start against Crystal Palace
Szoboszlai was excellent last term, registering 25 goal contributions in 53 appearances for Liverpool across all competitions.
His knack of producing a special moment in the final third did sometimes mask a poor performance, however, and his shortfalls have become more prevalent since the start of this campaign.
The Hungarian has scored three times and failed to provide an assist in 10 appearances, with Wednesday being his first club start since he went off injured against Brentford on 17 October.
Szoboszlai created two chances as a number 10 in Turkiye, but only took one touch in the Fener box, produced three accurate crosses from a whopping 20 attempts and failed to make a successful tackle.
He only had one defensive contribution as Liverpool's midfield was played through way too often, while failing to win either of his two attempted duels and failing to draw a foul.
The Reds are bottom of the Premier League for distance covered as a team per match (111.2km), so need to be much more intense to start winning again.
Szoboszlai is also in the 15th percentile for distance covered per 90 (11km) against other top flight midfielders, so clearly is not the answer to their current woes.
Jamie Carragher has had his say on Szoboszlai's struggles
Szoboszlai's best position in Iraola's set-up has been widely debated among Liverpool fans, and it remains unclear where he will fit in long term.
Reds legend Carragher offered his thoughts on how to get the most out of the 26-year-old on X after the Fenerbahce loss, saying: "He’s an 8 in a 433. If he plays right in a 4231 it means we have 3 wingers on the bench & this manager loves wingers. In this manager's system, it’s the 10 so he can press & not lose the balance of the team & shoot as he’s closer to the goal."
He’s an 8 in a 433.
If he plays right in a 4231 it means we have 3 wingers on the bench & this manager loves wingers.
In this managers system it’s the 10 so he can press & not lose the balance of the team & shoot as he’s closer to the goal.
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) November 4, 2026
Despite such a debate, it is wholly clear that Szoboszlai should remain nowhere near the Reds' eleven when they take on Palace this weekend.