For long stretches of the season, Dominik Szoboszlai was Liverpool’s best and most consistent player. He helped to steady the ship amid a rash of injuries that have seen the Reds climb from 11th on the table to 4th.
That steadying influence has become shaky over the past week, though, as Szoboszlai’s badly-timed backheel in the FA Cup vs. Barnsley cost the Reds a goal. Szoboszlai balanced out that gaffe with a goal, but manager Arne Slot called the backheel a “Weird Choice” in his post-match press conference, adding that he would have a private word with the Hungarian midfielder to address the situation.
Those discussions must have been productive because Slot gave Szoboszlai the start in an EPL match vs Burnley on Saturday, and Szoboszlai repaid that faith by hitting the bar on a first-half penalty kick. It was only the second penalty miss of Szoboszlai’s career in 21 chances.
Penalty misses happen to the best players. That’s part of football. But looking at the Player Ratings from the Burnley match, Szoboszlai was tentative in possession and rarely pushed forward. That’s why he only scored a 5/10, the lowest of anyone in the Starting XI.
That lack of drive to score a second goal cost the Reds dearly as Marcus Edwards scored an equaliser for the Clarets in the 65th minute. Liverpool showed more urgency from that point, but they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
After the match, Florian Wirtz, who scored a perfect 10/10 in Player Ratings, said the result felt like a loss, and Slot added that it was disappointing and he understood the boos that could be heard around Anfield after the performance.
The result was Liverpool’s fourth consecutive EPL draw, and even though Liverpool are in the midst of a 12-match unbeaten run, Arne Slot’s job is in question. The boss had a series of meetings with the ownership group, but the American outlet The Athletic is reporting that there are no plans for a mid-season sacking.
