Neil Mellor heaps praise on Liverpool star who did something ‘superb’ in defeat to Chelsea | OneFootball

Neil Mellor praised one Liverpool player for a ‘superb’ piece of play in the Reds’ 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the weekend.

Arne Slot and his team have come in for plenty of criticism over the past few days, having lost three matches in a row going into the October international break, with Gary Lineker claiming that they’re missing the creative spark that Trent Alexander-Arnold used to provide and Jamie Redknapp citing the full-back positions as a major concern.

The media reaction to the champions’ form has been unforgiving, but not all of the feedback on Saturday’s disappointment at Stamford Bridge has been negative.

Mellor praises ‘superb’ Dominik Szoboszlai

Taking to X on Monday evening as he shared clips from his analysis on LFCTV’s Review Show, Mellor singled out Dominik Szoboszlai for praise over his involvement in the move which led to Cody Gakpo’s second-half equaliser.

The ex-Liverpool striker posted: ‘Dominik Szoboszlai did superb for the Liverpool goal, using the space well to link up with Salah and deliver the cross having ran 70 metres’.

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Szoboszlai has been one of Liverpool’s best players of late

Gakpo’s goal was memorable for the stunning assist by Alexander Isak, but Mellor is right to highlight the contribution of the Reds’ versatile number 8 in the lead-up to the equaliser on Saturday.

Having switched to right-back for the second half after Conor Bradley was substituted, the Hungarian carried the ball from deep and gave Salah an overlap before getting to the byline and crossing for the Swedish striker to tee up the eventual goalscorer.

At a time when many of his teammates are playing nowhere near their best, Szoboszlai has been among the more consistent performers for Liverpool, especially when he’s being asked to alternate so frequently between his usual midfield position and a right-back berth.

Paul Gorst wrote (via The Mirror) that the 24-year-old ‘performed well once again’ in the latter role, and the statistics back that up. As per Sofascore, he won five duels and four tackles (including one as the last man), took three shots and made three clearances.

Some pundits had wondered whether the Hungary captain would be the sacrificial lamb from Florian Wirtz’s summer arrival at Anfield, but to the ex-RB Leipzig man’s great credit, he’s playing to a level which has compelled Slot to find a place for him in the starting XI.