Analysis: Szoboszlai’s Exceptional Start as the Reds’ New Star

(Data collected before the West Ham match)

Not many players sign for Liverpool in a summer window and hit the ground running from the first game on as Dominik Szoboszlai has done so far. The Hungary captain has not only shown quality on and off the ball, his versatility has been put to stern tests like never before. Guess what, he passed those tests with flying colours as well.

With Liverpool having to face tougher fixtures in addition to playing two of them with 10 men, Jürgen Klopp had no choice but to utilise the flexible aspect of Szoboszlai’s game to great effect. When everything is going well, the 22-year-old plays on the right-hand side of the midfield, a position that was previously operated in by Jordan Henderson.

But, we have seen the Hungarian operate in a double-six pivot when the team went down to 10 men against Bournemouth and Newcastle United. He was used in that shape with 11 men too when they were chasing the game against Wolves last Saturday. He ended the game on the left wing in the opening game against Chelsea. The best part about all this is that he did not look out of place in any of those positions.

Let’s take a further look at the good things Szoboszlai has done for Liverpool thus far and why he will be important if the Reds are to go deep in most competitions not only this season but beyond.

Before addressing the heatmap, let’s acknowledge that Szoboszlai has played every single minute in the league so far. It shows how vital he has already become for Klopp and the coaching staff that they prefer him on the field in various positions to sort the games out.

Now to the heatmap, although the most red spots are in the right-hand side of the midfield area, there are a few on the other side and close to both boxes too. It is more or less a heatmap of a player who is impacting games in and between both boxes for the team.