Dominik Szoboszlai wastes no time taking on Arne Slot's stern Liverpool demands
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored to wrap up a comfortable 3-1 victory against AC Milan in the opening round of Champions League games, sending a clear message to head coach Arne Slot in the process.
The Hungarian secured the win for Liverpool after finishing off a ruthless counter-attack, which started after Ryan Gravenberch intercepted a pass from Milan defender Strahinja Pavlovic. Szoboszlai was played through by Gravenberch before switching the ball wide to Cody Gakpo and found space in front of the Milan net as his Liverpool teammate whipped in a cross.
It completed a stunning turnaround for Liverpool after Milan took the lead through USMNT captain Christian Pulisic inside three minutes. Liverpool's center-back partnership Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk then scored from set pieces to put the Reds in front before Szoboszlai provided some welcome insurance.
It was the perfect response to a poor performance against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, which saw Liverpool lose 1-0 at home. Slot was unhappy with the shock result and called out Szoboszlai in particular, but the midfielder took just three days to respond.
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Szoboszlai's goal was exactly five years after he netted his first in the Champions League while playing for Red Bull Salzburg. It was a needed confidence boost after being one of Liverpool's worst performers against Forest.
The Hungarian was sloppy on Saturday and consistently gave the ball away, finishing the game with the lowest player rating on the field. Slot said after the game that Szoboszlai was an important player for Liverpool but hinted that he would need to offer more going forward if he was to keep his role as an attacking midfielder.
"I think all of the squad players have an important role, every player feels more important when they play," Slot said when evaluating Szoboszlai's performance against Forest. "Everyone has their role and they will all play.
"He has been important for us and his pressing has been outstanding. Something we have to work on is making him even more involved in scoring goals. He scored three last season but for an attacking midfielder at Liverpool, his numbers need to go up.
"I am confident with the quality he has and the players around him he will score more goals as well." Slot's confidence and Szoboszlai's response paid off within 72 hours, but now the spotlight will be on the midfielder to keep contributing further up the field.
Szoboszlai joined Liverpool in a deal worth $80 million last summer, arriving from Red Bull Leipzig. The 23-year-old has great potential, and Liverpool fans are hoping he will develop into a world-class midfielder under Slot as he struggled for consistency at times under former boss Jurgen Klopp during his first season.