What’s Gone Wrong for Dominik Szoboszlai at Liverpool? | OneFootball

Szoboszlai’s Telling Admission

When Dominik Szoboszlai was moved to the no.10 role by Arne Slot in pre-season there were high expectations.

Liverpool’s no.8 had not yet showcased his exciting potential in a red shirt. Being moved up the field was supposed to herald an avalanche of goals and creativity.

But instead Szoboszlai’s numbers have remained relatively the same, and some of his creative numbers have even dwindled.

Sitting in front of reporters ahead of Liverpool’s trip to RB Leipzig, the Hungarian admitted there was room for improvement.

“It can be always better so, no,” the 23-year-old said, when asked if he is satisfied with his performances.

“I can play even better. I can score more goals and do more assists.

“But I am doing a dirty job for the team and that is most important for me. We are top of league and if I don’t score goals that’s the most important for me.”

Photo: IMAGO

Why Isn’t Szoboszlai Scoring More Goals?

The premise at the start of the season was that by moving him higher up the field Szoboszlai will inevitably find himself in more goal-scoring opportunities and be able to exploit the spaces where he thrives for the Hungarian national team and thrived for RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.

However, the reality has been different.

The numbers show that Szoboszlai isn’t necessarily getting in those positions.

When it comes to touches in the opposition’s penalty area Szoboszlai is ranked 58th in the Premier League with 21 touches in seven games so far as per FBref.

Incredibly, City’s Josko Gvardiol has made more touches in the opposition’s penalty (26) area than Szoboszlai.

He’s not getting the ball in the final third either – where you expect a no.10 to be heavily involved in the game.

Szoboszlai ranks 40th in the league for touches in the final third with 146 – almost half of Bernardo Silva who ranks first in the metric with 288 touches.

In fact, Szoboszlai is getting less of the ball and is less involved in his new role than he was before.

This season he is averaging just 60.3 touches per game. Last season he averaged over 77 touches per game.

Given that he is not seeing the ball it’s not a surprise that he is averaging the lowest shot-creating-actions per 90 of his career so far with 3.16. Before that the lowest average he had was 4.61 in the Bundesliga. Even last season he averaged 4.92.

But 3.16 is very low for a player in his position. So why isn’t he creating more and getting more of the ball?

Could Szoboszlai Be The ‘New Firmino’?

As Szoboszlai said, he has been tasked with doing the ‘dirty’ job for Liverpool.

That involves being the focal point of Slot’s tactics to press the opponent from the front.

No one has made more sprints in the Premier League (137) this season than Szoboszlai.

He is tied for the statistics with Mohamed Salah. However, whereas the Egyptian makes forward runs – Szoboszlai’s sprints are more defensive ones to run up against the opposition and close them down.

Photo: IMAGO

When it comes to his positional rivals in the league only Eberchi Eze (42) and Iliman Ndiaye (50) have made more recoveries than the Hungarian (34).

It’s important to note the two players above him play for the 18th and 16th placed team in the Premier League respectively, where they are required to do a lot more of the off the ball work.

Szoboszlai is making this amount of recoveries while playing for the side top of the league.

While these are not the numbers you would expect a no.10 to be leading or praised for – there is no denying these contributions have been integral to keep Slot’s machine well oiled.

In this sense, Szoboszlai has almost become Slot’s very own Firmino. The Brazilian was often criticised for his lack of goal contributions but he made up for it with his immense defensive work that allowed the likes of Salah and Sadio Mane to thrive.

Szoboszlai is doing the same now and it’s no coincidence the players around him are flourishing as a result.

Room For Improvement

Now that’s not to say there isn’t any room for improvement. Szoboszlai is good enough to have his cake and eat it too.

There is no denying that Szoboszlai’s decision making has been poor at times when in possession and he needs to be better.

Only 65.5% of his passes have been accurate to the final third as per Wyscout – last season that figure was significantly higher at 77.2% – while he averaged the same amount of passes into the final third.

Meanwhile, when it comes to forward passes he is averaging 3 less per 90 minutes but his accuracy has dropped by over 10%.

Last season it was 75.8% while averaging 11.74 forward passes per 90. This season it’s just 64.4% while averaging 8.43 forward passes per 90.

Part of the reason for that will be that he is being pressed more and has less time on the ball because he is playing higher up the pitch.

However, even so, the numbers in terms of his passing accuracy are not good enough. Szoboszlai can do much better. And he needs to do much better if he is to become an elite no.10 not just for Liverpool but in the Premier League.