Slot hails Liverpool star for makeshift right-back display | OneFootball

Arne Slot has hailed the performance of Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai in an unfamiliar right-back role at Newcastle.

Szoboszlai deputised at full-back in the absence of the injured Jeremie Frimpong, with fellow defenders Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez also being eased back to fitness.

The Hungary international produced a committed display in the unfamiliar role, as Liverpool claimed a dramatic 3-2 win at St James’ Park. Szoboszlai made four clearances and was dribbled past just once, with Slot praising the 24-year-old for his team-first attitude.

“Talking about mentality, it is not easy to play as a full-back if you’ve only been a midfielder in your career,” he said at his post-match press conference.

“He played there once in pre-season. I think it was against Stoke when we played behind closed doors. But in that game we only had the ball and now he had to defend a lot.

“For him to put in a performance like that, you can say a lot about his mentality. As you can about all the players because this was mentally such a difficult evening. Such a difficult place to go to, such a difficult opponent to play against. For us to be able to get a result, let alone getting a win, is a big compliment for the boys.”

For the second successive game, Liverpool scored a late winner in the Premier League. The Reds had blown a 2-0 lead against 10-man Newcastle, until 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha scored deep into stoppage time. Asked if results like this win titles, Slot said: “That is the last thing I think about in this moment, if I’m honest. Winning away at Newcastle then you definitely need to have quality, especially in an atmosphere like this.

“Not football quality because that’s not what we showed today – apart from the last goal we scored. That looked a little bit like what I see on a daily basis on the training ground. But to have the mentality to fight here in such a hostile stadium, that is definitely something you also need if you want to compete in the end. Winning is something else but at least competing you definitely need to have this mentality – and that’s what we showed.”

Read – Slot admits Liverpool ‘lucky’ after late Newcastle winner

See more – Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

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