Positives were few and far between for Liverpool on yet another sad night for the Premier League champions, but they weren’t entirely lacking either.
The Reds have now lost four top-flight games after a 3-2 defeat to Brentford, making it seven consecutive defeats in London for Arne Slot’s side, including the penalty shootout disappointment against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield.
The Merseysiders were once again made to pay for sloppy defending at crucial moments at the Gtech Community Stadium, and although they had claims for a penalty when Cody Gakpo went down under a challenge from Nathan Collins, LFC got what they deserved: nil.
It was another night when too many Liverpool players were shockingly adrift, although Slot will have been pleased with the performance of one member of his west London squad.
Szoboszlai was impressed; Liverpool didn’t
The defeat ruined Dominik Szoboszlai’s 25th birthday, but the Hungarian is one of a very select few who can hold his head high with what he produced against Brentford.
The Reds’ number 8 claimed the assist for Mo Salah’s astonishing late goal, which set up a frenzied finish at the Gtech; and apart from one inexplicable pass during stoppage time, his match statistics were largely positive.
According to Bank scorethe Liverpool midfielder – who was reassigned as a right-back for part of the match – won 11 matches out of 15 contested at team level and also made more tackles (six) and completed more passes (73).
In addition, he registered two successful dribbles and two key passes, made four clearances, took 119 touches and played eight accurate long balls out of ten attempts.
Szoboszlai was praised for his performance in the defeat to Liverpool
His match rating of 7/10 out of Liverpool echo was the highest ranked player in Slot’s team tonight, while Ian Doyle wrote: ‘I tried to take Liverpool forward in the opening quarter and put in so much work, stepping up where others didn’t. Good assist for second, but spent time at right back again – a clear waste.’
That’s an accurate summary of the Hungarian’s achievements. On a night when too many of his teammates underperformed, he at least tried to make a difference for the Reds, for whom he has been arguably the best player in what will be a horrific season.
Szoboszlai’s performance earned the three points which would have been the perfect birthday present. Unfortunately, his team’s overall performance deserved nothing more than a fourth straight league defeat and a long, miserable journey home from the capital.
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