Dominik Szoboszlai Beginning to Shine for Liverpool
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During the summer transfer window, there was much talk about the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister at Liverpool and what he would bring to the team.
There was also the collapsed deal for Moises Caicedo, also from Brighton, that caught the attention of the headline writers.
However, there was one deal that was seamless, yet did not receive the same attention, and that was the arrival of Dominik Szoboszlai from BR Leipzig.
The Hungarian international joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig for a fee of around £60 million.
As with any new signing, especially from a foreign league, it can take time for the player to settle but following his performance against Nottingham Forest, it is clear Szoboszlai has settled nicely into Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Speaking about Szoboszlai after the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, Klopp said, “The boy is a joy to watch with how much he loves to play and how mature he is on the pitch with two assists. You need players that understand the game and he definitely does.”
The statistics may show just one goal and two assists for Szoboszlai in the Premier League this season but the midfielder has had a significant influence on the team.
For a start, the Hungarian has completed 90 minutes in every Premier League match for Liverpool this season, underlining how consistent he has been for the club.
This contrasts with the Bundesliga last season, where Szoboszlai failed to play the 90 minutes in 5 of his final 7 league fixtures.
In fact, Szoboszlai completed 90 minutes just 14 times in the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig last season, meaning he is only 4 matches away from matching that total for Liverpool and we are only just entering November.
Szoboszlai scored 6 goals and made 8 assists in the Bundesliga last season, meaning he had a total of 14 goals involvements.
Klopp will be hoping he can better that total in the Premier League this season but Szoboszlai is being asked to play in a different role to his time in Germany.
Szoboszlai often appeared on the right side of the attack for RB Leipzig but has been operating exclusively as a central midfielder for Liverpool.
The pass success percentage for Szoboszlai having played 10 Premier League games is 88.4% while it stood at 83% for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga last season.
That shows Szoboszlai has been more accurate with his passing and perhaps playing in the central midfield role has increased his awareness of keeping possession of the ball.
Szoboszlai’s average number of passes per game is much higher for Liverpool than RB Leipzig last season, standing at 63.2 compared to 43.2.
So, not only is Szoboszlai making many more passes per game but the accuracy of the passes has improved.
An aspect of Szoboszlai’s game that has been very impressive is his work rate off the ball.
His pressing out of possession has been excellent and Szoboszlai has clearly taken onboard the instructions of Klopp and is executing them well on the pitch.
If he continues to improve, there is every chance Szoboszlai could emerge as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League this season.
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