Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai was in action for Hungary on Sunday night
Dominik Szoboszlai and Hungary were on the end of a 3-0 home defeat against Turkey in the Nations League on Sunday night. It followed on from a 3-1 loss on Thursday, with Turkey emerging as 6-1 winners on aggregate in the two-legged affair and earning promotion to Nations League A.
The visitors scored three goals from just four shots on target as Hakan Çalhanoğlu opened the scoring from the penalty spot. The Puskas Arena was silenced just two minutes later as Real Madrid player Arda Guler scored. In his celebration, the midfielder confronted Liverpool star Szoboszlai by shushing him as Abdülkerim Bardakcı put the icing on the cake for Turkey with a goal in the 90th minute.
Szoboszlai hits back at Guler
After being shushed by 20-year-old Guler, Szoboszlai took to social media to respond to the Real Madrid player. He posted the number 1088, a reference to how many minutes the Turkey star has had at club level this season.
There have been 17 players to feature more for Madrid this term, with the Liverpool player appearing to make a brutal point about Guler’s importance at club level. Guler has scored three goals and provided five assists for Madrid this term. Guler started for the Spanish club in their 2-0 Champions League defeat against the Reds back in late November, but was hooked after just 56 minutes at Anfield.
Szoboszlai is a key player for club and country and only Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have played more minutes for Liverpool this season. Reds boss Arne Slot is a big fan of the Hungarian and said of him in January: “Not by me, but he doesn’t always get the credit for the fact he’s very important for this team. Because his work rate is unbelievable. He just keeps on running with the highest intensity and that is so important for a team that wants to compete for something.”
Hungary boss reacts to Nations League loss
Szoboszlai will return to Merseyside aiming to bounce back from Hungary’s defeat to Greece as the Reds prepare for games with Everton and Fulham. Reacting to the defeat, the Liverpool star told Hungarian media: “But I think you have to make the luck. We have done it in the last few years, we have made it happen, it has come our way. Now we need to get a bit of a grip on ourselves as a company, everyone, including myself, and come up with an ‘anything’ for the summer that will take us forward and help us in the World Cup qualifiers.”
Hungary boss said Marco Rossi: “It is my fault that we slipped back into League B, but we did everything we could and tried our best to make sure that did not happen. Some circumstances went against us, in Istanbul the score was 1-1 and I had to bring two of my best players off the pitch. Always keep in mind the level of the opponent, this Turkish national team and its coach are directly below the highest level.”