Dominik Szoboszlai Silences Critics with Thunderbolt Goal for Liverpool
Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t just answer his critics. He silenced them with a thunderbolt.
Under the lights in the Carabao Cup, the Hungarian drove Liverpool past Tottenham with a performance that crackled with intent, sealing a 3-1 win with a long-range strike that ripped into the top corner and jolted Anfield to its feet. It was the kind of goal that reminds a crowd – and a league – exactly what a player is about.
All this, days after his name had drifted into the debate shows and phone-ins.
A flat display in the 0-0 draw at Fulham, where he won just one of his 10 duels, had sparked the usual noise: Is he fading? Is he in the right role? Has the early-season shine worn off?
Szoboszlai shrugged.
“Was there a criticism? I don't know, I didn't see but thanks for telling me,” he said, with a hint of steel. “You know this goal [against Spurs] was for the people who are always next to me because we are also humans so we can have bad games.”
That human side has been tested by change. Andoni Iraola’s arrival has ripped up Liverpool’s old midfield blueprint. No more rigid pairings. No comfort zones. Szoboszlai has become the symbol of that tactical shift – a high-energy, high-responsibility cog in a system that never stands still.
He has been asked to be the runner, the creator, the presser, sometimes all within the same five-minute spell. Against Fulham, that burden looked heavy. Against Spurs, he wore it like a captain’s armband.
Position Debate
There is confusion outside the dressing room about what, exactly, he is now. A No.10? An No.8? A deep-lying playmaker? Szoboszlai pushed back on the idea that it’s as simple as a number on a tactics board.
“I think you guys see a little bit different because we play with one 6, one 8 and one 10,” he explained. “So the 6 and the 8 are not next to each other, the 8 is a little bit higher and the 6 is a little bit deeper and the 10 is a little bit even higher so it is not two next to each other.”
It’s a layered role in a layered system. Iraola has praised his intelligence since day one, and Szoboszlai listed the jobs he has already been asked to do.
“Last week against Fulham I was a No.8, I have been No.2 as well, I have been No.6, No.8, No.10, No.7 also,” he said. The numbers flick past like shirt options, not fixed identities.
Outside, the argument rumbles on. Some want him closer to goal, free to unleash that strike and slide passes into runners. Others see a future conductor, dropping deeper to dictate tempo. Inside, the debate barely registers.
“No, I just want to be on the pitch,” he said. “Maybe I am not at the best in the 6 position because I win one of the 10 duels, maybe next the game I am going to win eight out of 10, so I am then a good 6? So it's always balance.”
For Iraola, that flexibility is gold. Injuries have forced tweaks, and Szoboszlai has become the plug-in solution: right, left, deep, high. For the player, it comes down to something simpler – keep your name on the team sheet, then make it count.
His goal against Spurs did exactly that. It also carried Liverpool into a fourth-round tie with Chelsea, a fixture that already feels like a measure of where this evolving side stands.
But the manager won’t let anyone look that far ahead. The Premier League drags them straight back to the here and now, with Bournemouth awaiting on Sunday. After Fulham, after the criticism, after the response, Szoboszlai knows the cycle never really stops.
“There will be games where we are not playing at our best as a team, as personally me or somebody else,” he said. “But trust me it is always leave the past and then the next one, the next one, the reaction is what matters.”
The reaction has started. The question now is how long he can keep swinging momentum back Liverpool’s way.
