Anfield Watch
·8 juin 2025
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsAnfield Watch
·8 juin 2025
© IMAGO - Florian Wirtz Liverpool Bayer Leverkusen
Last night for Hungary, despite captaining his team to a 2-0 loss against Sweden, Szoboszlai delivered a masterclass for the onlooking Liverpool fans checking in on the 24-year-old.
He was initially positioned as a No. 10 alongside Roman Sallai, who might be Wirtz in Liverpool's engine room next season, but throughout the game he was a deep-lying playmaker in the No. 8 role.
Inside his 79 minute appearance we saw a bit of everything. One shot on target, four key passes, an accurate cross, five accurate long-balls, one big chance created, six ground duels won, one aerial duel won, four clearances, one tackle and he was fouled five times by the opposition.
The man was a trouble-maker from the off, constantly getting involved wherever he could and making sure he contributed to the team, whether it was on or off the ball. A captain's performance.
So what did this tell us? Well, if the reports are to be believed, then Wirtz will feature predominantly in the No. 10 role at Liverpool, which then potentially relegates Szoboszlai to the No. 8 role alongside Ryan Gravenberch, although he'll be competing with Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones for minutes.
In the final games of the season, we saw Slot try and change things up, and the new role for the Hungarian is definitely something that he could excel in next season if he is required to change.
But Wirtz has previously been positioned as a false-nine centre-forward and we've even seen Slot utilise a system where no striker is used. At the Etihad against Manchester City in February, Jones and Szoboszlai played as joint No. 10s, constantly pressing high and overloading the midfield.