Arne Slot’s sang the praises of Dominik Szoboszlai in his Bournemouth pre-match press conference, hailing the Hungarian as “Incredible”.
Szoboszlai’s intelligent free kick on Wednesday night meant that he has had a goal involvement in all but one UEFA Champions League game, contributing to goals in five consecutive European games.
The Hungary captain is “having a very good season” at Anfield, according to Slot and his 7 goals and 5 assists this term means he is on course for his best season in England since signing for the Reds.
His manager acknowledged the development, “He improved this season on the ball compared to last season when I already liked him. He plays with even more confidence and now even more involved in chances and goals.”
New System
Szoboszlai was deployed in part of a two number 10 system alongside Florian Wirtz, against Marseille.
This seemed to suit the two players as they both had the freedom to roam and affect the game as they saw fit to do so.
Szoboszlai was named Man of the Match on Wednesday and their confidence alongside each other is another partnership that has seemed to grow over the course of the season.
Alongside Szoboszlai’s on field output, Slot was questioned about how the midfielder affects the dressing room.
Slot stated that his off the pitch persona has shown a real level of maturity and he has proven to be a real leader in the camp with the Dutchman praising his work ethic.
"“If you want to be a leader, (you should be) leading by example, he’s always done that, always the one without the ball who is incredible, the way he presses, the intensity.”"Arne Slot on Szoboszlai's leadership
Leadership
As I mentioned before, the 25-year-old is the Hungary captain and has been so for a few years now, being the nations talismanic figure since bursting on the scene with RB Salzburg.
Szoboszlai, alongside Virgil van Dijk, the potentially departing, Andy Robertson, Mo Salah, Wataru Endo and Conor Bradley have all captained their nations and will all contribute to the dressing room atmosphere and hold up the standards held by the squad.
On the other hand, Slot did have some critical words for his number 8. Szoboszlai “has been part of two moments in recent games that not of his standard”, with his missed penalty against Burnley and his lapse of judgement against Barnsley. Slot noted that these are moments “you don’t see often” and that “he (Szoboszlai) acknowledged that.”