Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has been sensational for club and country alike this season.
The Reds star stood out for Hungary in their 2-2 draw with Lithuania in Euro 2024 qualifying on Tuesday.
However, Szoboszlai‘s impressive stats at full time don’t tell the full story.
The Liverpool ace was initially deployed in a more deep-lying role in the first half, and he struggled as the hosts raced into a 2-0 lead.
Hungary boss Marco Rossi was hoping that Szoboszlai could set the tempo and dictate proceedings from a deeper position.
However, that wasn’t the case. And after the break, the Liverpool ace reverted to a more attacking position, where he shone. He scored (from the penalty spot) and also got an assist.
Rossi, speaking to MTI – via Infostart – after the game, admitted that he made a mistake in deploying Szoboszlai further back.
“My idea was for Szoboszlai to play football further back, but it didn’t work out,” he said.
“It’s as if we missed the first half completely, we left a large area for the opponent, who took advantage of it.
“The changes made during the break worked, the picture of the match completely changed, we broke through the opponent’s defense several times, so we had a lot of chances.
“But the Lithuanian goalkeeper defended brilliantly, so we didn’t manage to win.”
You can see where Rossi’s coming from, and credit to him for admitting his decision didn’t work out.
Szoboszlai is a ‘brilliant‘ footballer and it’s important to play to his strengths, as was the case later on in the game.
As per Sofascore, the Reds attacking talent registered three shots on target, made six key passes, completed 60 passes out of 69, and got 104 touches of the ball.
Szoboszlai also weighed in with four accurate crosses and two accurate long balls, and won seven ground duels, on top of his goal and assist.
With the international break now finished, the 22-year-old will head back to Merseyside and look to help Liverpool triumph in the derby this weekend.
