Dominik Szoboszlai’s performance of intelligence and heart is exactly what was required at Liverpool
There were a series of exasperated gasps shortly before the hour-mark in the Anfield crowd on Saturday afternoon.
Alexis Mac Allister could hardly believe his eyes either, with referee Thomas Bramall wasting no time in ensuring the Argentine was the latest Liverpool player to be dismissed on their Anfield bow.
And having been made to weather an early storm on as Andoni Iraola’s new-look, revamped Bournemouth side arrived on Merseyside with a new-found swagger, Mac Allister’s dismissal had the vast majority of those packed inside Anfield fearing the worst.
All of those apart from fellow home debutant Dominik Szoboszlai, that is. Clearly, the 22-year-old Hungarian saw the early exit of Mac Allister as the perfect opening for him to endear himself to the 51,000 Kopites housed on Anfield Road, many catching a glimpse of the Reds’ new £60m signing for the first time since his summer arrival from RB Leipzig.
Indeed, Szoboszlai stepped up to the mantle immediately after the dismissal of Mac Allister. As had been the case at Stamford Bridge six days earlier, Liverpool’s No.8 persisted to harry all of those in Bournemouth blue and continued to be a physical presence but perhaps most impressively was the maturity that the Hungarian displayed in the Reds’ unexpected half-hour of need.
Admirably this time around though, rather than wallow in the adversity that they found themselves engulfed in after VAR referees Paul Tierney and Constantine Hatzidakis had decided against overturning Bramall’s on-field decision, Jurgen Klopp’s side stood strong and immediately regrouped following the early stages of a frantic second half.
“Everybody had in their head, ‘We have to fight now for Macca and also for everybody.’ Because if one of us is not running, then we are not nine, we are eight,” said Szoboszlai post-match on Saturday. “We had to do it for each other, for the fans, for us, for myself, everybody for themselves to have the three points.”
Based on last season’s struggles alone, such tooth-and-nail grit has clearly been missing from the Liverpool ranks recently. Of course, last term saw the Reds have their remarkable Anfield reign toppled by relegated Leeds United, who became the first Premier League side since Crystal Palace in April 2017 to defeat Liverpool with fans in attendance at Anfield.
Prior to that gut-wrenching October evening that was arguably the nadir of a disastrous 2022/23 campaign, Darwin Nunez’s home debut against Crystal Palace ended with an early shower for the Uruguayan after his shock sending-off for a headbutt on Joachim Andersen. Though Liverpool failed to strike back against the Eagles and only had a share of the points to show for their lacklustre effort after Luis Diaz’s late stunner restored parity. That would be the first of five Anfield stalemates in the Premier League across the 2022/23 season, with Liverpool ultimately dropping 13 points in their L4 home.
On Saturday, though, there was no such danger of a repeat, with Szoboszlai immediately making the difference as Liverpool found themselves rallying the Anfield crowd. And just moments after Mac Allister was given his marching orders, the Hungarian demanded the ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold on the edge of the area before letting fly with an effort that was too hot for Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto to hold and therefore resulted in Diogo Jota tapping home to open up a crucial two-goal advantage with an effort from close-range.
“He was obviously the only one who felt he had the power for more,” said Klopp, when asked about the Hungarian in his post-match media duties. “And because he was part of the double six and running everywhere, I had to hold him back a little bit.
“But the general performance level he shows since he is here is really, really good, to be honest.”
Szoboszlai had already enjoyed a fine Anfield debut before Liverpool were reduced to 10 men after 59 minutes. However, at 10-v-11 he not only deputised in a handful of different positions as Klopp shuffled his hand of cards but was also keen to showcase the leadership qualities that saw him appointed captain of the Hungary national team at just 22.
In fact, it was while sitting in a double pivot with new signing Wataru Endo that the 22-year-old refused to rest on Liverpool’s 3-1 advantage and continued to bring the game to Iraola’s side. This time around Philip Billing and Milos Kerkez were the sufferers as the Hungarian caused the Cherries’ duo to collide with one another after an explosive run down the right-hand side.
In doing so, Szoboszlai showed the strong mentality that should be a prerequisite in playing for Liverpool and Klopp, the Hungary captain displaying leadership and physical skills that the Reds lost when a number of senior players – including club captain Jordan Henderson and vice James Milner – departed Anfield this summer.
In Endo, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, Liverpool have recruited leaders in the middle of the park, and it was the latter’s display of intelligence and guts against Bournemouth which should provide the blueprint for any further signings in the final 12 days of the transfer window. More players with such a mentality can take Liverpool to new heights.
Indeed, there is plenty for Liverpool to work on ahead of next weekend’s visit to St James’ Park and beyond, with Newcastle United offering a far tougher test than Bournemouth.
But after rallying from behind in the depth of adversity for what felt like the first time in a while, with Szoboszlai in the ranks Kopities can afford a huge sigh of relief. The Hungarian is clearly making a sizeable impression at his new club already.
