Liverpool star thrives in new midfield role under Slot system | OneFootball

Szoboszlai’s Role Redefined as Liverpool Finds Rhythm in Anfield Victory

Midfield engine shows his class

There’s something quietly satisfying about watching a footballer grow into a role that seems tailor-made for him. Not forced, not improvised, but naturally evolving. Dominik Szoboszlai, once pencilled in as Liverpool’s next number 10, is now dictating the rhythm from deeper in midfield. And you’d struggle to find anyone complaining.

Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Athletic Club may have served up headlines for the new arrivals, but it was Szoboszlai’s mature and commanding performance in a new position that caught the eye. No longer chasing shadows between the lines, he’s becoming the architect, not the flourish.

Photo IMAGO

Szoboszlai has adapted. Not just in position, but in presence. Dropping in during build-up play, driving forward with control, pointing Milos Kerkez into position like a general marshalling his lines. His energy remains, but now there’s shape to it. Direction.

Slot’s trust starting to show

When Arne Slot came through the doors at Kirkby, the conversation inevitably centred around system. Philosophy. Control. Szoboszlai was always going to be one of the big questions: too attacking to play deep, not quite a pure creator in the final third. Yet here he is, operating with authority, trusted to carry the ball, recycle it, and start again.

Photo IMAGO

He was dropping into the defensive line at times against Bilbao, shaping Liverpool’s play from within the back six. In possession, he kept things simple but crisp. Out of possession, he offered legs, bite and leadership.

Szoboszlai does not dominate games like a Gerrard or Alonso. He does not need to. He influences them. Quietly, consistently, and with growing assurance.

Wirtz arrival offers clarity

Florian Wirtz, with his sharp feet and quick mind, looks set to make the number 10 position his own. That might have been seen as a threat to Szoboszlai’s minutes, but it has arguably done the opposite. It has given him clarity.

Liverpool do not need Szoboszlai to play between the lines. They need him to make sure those lines connect. The Hungarian is not being edged out. He is being given the platform to lead from deeper, to shape the flow.

And for a player with that level of stamina, technical quality and spatial awareness, it’s beginning to look like the perfect role.

Pre-season hints at long-term plan

This was just a friendly, yes, but friendly matches often show the truth when no one is pretending. Szoboszlai is not fighting for a place in the starting XI. He’s part of the spine now.

Against Bilbao, Liverpool’s midfield had balance. Szoboszlai was central to that. In the middle of a summer where headlines belong to the signings, it is reassuring to see that one of last summer’s most high-profile arrivals is still developing, still improving, and still key to the plan.