Because the chaos erupted across the stands of Anfield on Sunday evening, Dominik Szoboszlai ensured he was the best man within the stadium.
The Hungary worldwide executed an ideal knee slide in entrance of the Kop after arrowing a pinpoint free-kick previous David Raya at hand Liverpool a dramatic late lead in a nail-biting affair towards Premier League title rivals Arsenal.
After lastly escaping the mobbing of his team-mates, the midfielder stood tall, chest out – lastly in a position to revel within the acclaim of the well-known outdated terrace, as its followers saluted a brand new, unlikely hero.
For Szoboszlai, it was one of many few instances he has been in a position to take centre stage at Anfield since becoming a member of the membership from RB Leipzig in 2023.
The No. 8 shirt
The 24-year-old, now into his third season, arrived on Merseyside with some fairly lofty expectations as he was simply the second Liverpool participant to shoulder the load of the No. 8 shirt since Steve Gerrard’s illustrious profession on the membership got here to an finish in Could 2015.
It was, then, wholly becoming that this strike was Liverpool’s newest profitable purpose scored straight from a free-kick within the Premier League since Gerrard discovered the highest nook towards Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the 2008/2009 season.
At instances, really, the Hungarian’s full-throttle efficiency, blended with technical excellence, was like a throwback to the mid-2000s when a first-rate Gerrard would usually spend his weekends bailing out his below-par, misfiring Liverpool aspect.
And the truth that Szoboszlai now wears the No. 8 on a shirt manufactured by German sportswear giants Adidas, whose iconic three-striped kits are synonymous with the membership’s historical past, solely added to the sensation of nostalgia in and across the terraces.
In fact, he nonetheless has loads to attain if he’s to at some point be spoken about in the identical breath as some Liverpool greats – not to mention the 2005 Champions League hero, Gerrard.
However what his efficiency towards Arsenal did was underline his standing as an indispensable part of the present-day Liverpool, who, three weeks into the marketing campaign, look nicely positioned to make a powerful defence of their Premier League crown between now and the tip of Could.
Just like Gerrard, the early years of Szoboszlai’s Liverpool profession have seen him deployed in a variety of positions – 5, to be precise – such is the in depth nature of each his bodily and psychological attributes.
An unlikely right-back answer
It was in probably the most unfamiliar of these roles, right-back, the place he was formally deployed by Arne Slot – with summer season signing Jeremie Frimpong nursing a hamstring harm and Conor Bradley additionally lately spending time on the sidelines.
However even after solely taking part in as a right-back within the Premier League for the primary time six days earlier, Szoboszlai made positive it was his fingerprints that have been throughout this at instances uninspiring however finally very important Anfield triumph.
When up towards the vigorous Gabriel Martinelli, he confirmed no indicators of studying on the job as he was combative and strong all through.
And by the point the whistle of referee Chris Kavanagh sounded out round Anfield for the ultimate time, the previous MTK Budapest teenager had received all bar one in all his mixed aerial and floor duels towards the Premier League’s most bodily imposing aspect.
On the offensive, in the meantime, there have been loads of alternatives for Szoboszlai so as to add to his Gerrard-esque showreel, notably halfway by the second half, when he despatched Florian Wirtz away with a 60-yard cross-field diagonal cross.
Solely time will inform how essential that particular asset of Szoboszlai’s recreation may very well be, with Liverpool, in fact, nonetheless making an attempt to work out easy methods to fill the artistic void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s transfer to Actual Madrid earlier this yr.
However because the Premier League champions put together to face the cussed defences of Burnley, Atletico Madrid and Everton within the weeks forward, the reply is more likely to be pretty essential as Frimpong and Wirtz, the 2 gamers signed to interchange the England worldwide, proceed to acclimatise to the calls for of English soccer.
The work behind Szoboszlai’s spotlight reel
Within the meantime, nonetheless, the abiding reminiscence of this early season six-pointer between the 2 title favourites will undoubtedly belong to Szoboszlai and his sensational set-piece.
However as spectacular because the strike was, it’s every part else he did throughout a gruelling afternoon’s work that can vindicate Slot’s long-standing belief within the Hungarian.
It’s why, regardless of a record-breaking summer season of participant buying and selling, which raised loads of questions on his future after the club-record signing of Wirtz, Szoboszlai will proceed to be one of many first names on the group sheet at Anfield.
The place, precisely? Properly, that’s anybody’s guess.
