Arne Slot’s ‘underrated’ Liverpool player breaks eight-year record in victory over Tottenham

Live update here, as Liverpool dominate Tottenham in their Carabao Cup clash and secure a spot in the final. One standout performance came from Dominik Szoboszlai, who was nothing short of tireless on the pitch, even breaking a Liverpool record that was previously set by Philippe Coutinho.

Szoboszlai started in the Reds’ commanding win over Spurs on Thursday, and once again, he was at the heart of the action. He netted the third goal of the night, practically sealing Liverpool’s place in the final. However, it wasn’t just the goal that impressed. The former RB Leipzig man racked up some seriously impressive stats, with five shots and five created chances, leading the way in both categories for Liverpool.

Additionally, Szoboszlai made nine touches in the Tottenham box, further showing his attacking prowess. But his contributions weren’t only in the offensive third. He also won seven out of 15 duels and made nine recoveries, underlining his all-around performance.

These numbers are particularly remarkable, as they haven’t been seen since Philippe Coutinho during a memorable 7-0 win against Maribor in 2017. Szoboszlai’s performance comes hot on the heels of some glowing praise from Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who had this to say after the recent win against Ipswich: “Pleasing to see for him because he’s been working so, so hard for the team every single game and that he now comes off the pitch with a goal is also pleasing for him.”

Slot went on: “If you zoom in on Dom [Szoboszlai], I think at the beginning of the season he would have played that ball to Mo, which most of the time was a very good choice because Mo can definitely score a goal as well. And now he decided to go for the goal himself and scored the goal himself. Nice for him because, in my opinion, he is a bit underestimated.”

“Not by me, but he doesn’t always get the credits for the fact he is very important for this team, because his work-rate is un-be-lievable. He just keeps on running with the highest intensity, and that is so important for a team that wants to compete for something.”

While Slot clearly holds Szoboszlai in high regard, Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool star, isn’t entirely convinced just yet. He recently said: “I’m not Dominik Szoboszlai’s biggest fan. He’s great off the ball, but he’s a no.10 and only scored three goals.” It seems there’s still a bit of debate about Szoboszlai’s overall impact.