Liverpool are making major changes to their midfield as the transfer of Dominik Szoboszlai approaches.
Dominik Szoboszlai will have a major part to play if Liverpool are to get back to challenging Manchester City next season.
The Reds finished 22 points behind Pep Guardiola’s men last season after injuries to key players and a lack of consistency saw the side nearly miss out on European football.
Europa League football was ultimately rescued by Liverpool after finishing fifth, although Jürgen Klopp is hopeful his players can challenge for another title challenge and challenge City for top spot.
The signing of Alexis Mac Allister and the imminent arrival of Szoboszlai should add to the pursuit of the Citizens, a team no stranger to the latter.
The Hungarian international has faced City in the last two Champions League seasons and has made four appearances in total against the reigning Premier League champions. He earned 30 minutes of playing time for the first time in a thrilling 6-3 defeat in September 2021, although he helped gain revenge in the second leg in Germany by scoring in a 2-1 win.
After this win, Szoboszlai explained how he used poor positioning from Kyle Walker and John Stones to hold unto a through ball before getting around Zack Steffen to score.
“This is football. We can play bad or really well against such great opposition. I noticed early on that there was space to exploit for me between Stones and Walker, and I went deeper more often, then the outstanding ball came from Konni [Konrad Laimer] and I was able to score the team bring in the lead,” he said.
“We said before the game: With courage and will we can defeat everyone. That was the plan and it worked. We were able to show that we can play really well even against a top opponent can.”
Reunited with City last season in the Champions League, Leipzig had hopes of promotion after a 1-1 draw in the round of 16 first leg, but suffered a painful 7-0 defeat three weeks later and went 8-1 on aggregate to crash out of the competition. Erling Haaland, Szoboszlai’s former teammate at Red Bull Salzburg, scored five goals that night.
