The midfield for Liverpool is currently seeing a lot of change. After witnessing a wave of departures, Jürgen Klopp’s first priority is still very much replacing players like Fabinho in the squad with suitable acquisitions. Liverpool are undoubtedly making an effort to address it in the market.
However, for the midfielders who have already joined, the adjustment to life in the red shirt has gone without a hitch. Both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have seamlessly integrated and have already breathed new life into Liverpool’s midfield.
In terms of his pressing and relentless energy in the middle of the pitch, Szoboszlai in particular has looked every bit the ideal Klopp player. He provides the kind of vitality that Liverpool’s midfield has frequently lacked recently.
In order to stop the kinds of counterattacks that the Reds’ midfield was frequently swamped with last season, the Hungarian has been covering a lot of ground and closing down a lot of spaces in the middle.
While Szoboszlai has already contributed to one goal for Liverpool in just 155 minutes and has looked poised when in possession of the ball, his strongest performances have come during defensive transitions off the ball, which may surprise some people.
Despite playing the shortest amount of minutes among the Reds’ midfielders, Szoboszlai has made the most recoveries (18), interceptions (11) and fouls (six) in the midfield.
He has been a constant thorn in the side of the opposition and based on a small sample, he is giving the kind of impact Liverpool will have been looking for after Fabinho’s departure.
At first glance, many will look at Szoboszlai making six fouls in the space of 155 minutes as a negative. But if you analyse the position on the pitch where he picked up those fouls, they were all in the middle of the park, to break the momentum of the opposition, and slowed down the game as they looked to get in behind Liverpool.
Given that Liverpool likes to press hard under Klopp, having someone to mop up like that when the opposition manages to evade the press and commit such fouls is essential to preventing risky counterattacks and the defence being exposed.
It’s also essential to note that despite all of his challenges, the Hungarian received zero bookings. However, he might not get away with as much during the regular season.
Szoboszlai is now averaging 3.48 fouls per 90 minutes, whilst Fabinho averaged 1.83 per 90 in all competitions last season. Although the sample size is obviously small and will eventually even out a bit more, it appears that Klopp may have another important midfield disruptor in Szoboszlai.
This is also supported by other measurements. In 155 minutes, 18 recoveries and 11 interceptions is a really excellent return. That equals 10.46 recoveries and 6.39 interceptions on a per-90 average. Thiago Alcântara was the midfielder for Liverpool who averaged the most recoveries with 8.44 per 90 and the most interceptions with 5.01 per 90 last season.
The Spaniard frequently played a crucial part for Liverpool in those crucial transitional periods to stop opposition counterattacks, and perhaps Klopp sees Szoboszlai filling a similar function. That would account for the Hungarian’s selection to play on Thiago’s left side rather than the right side, which many people had predicted.
It is clear from Klopp’s assessment that Mac Allister is now the more offensive midfielder between him and Szoboszlai, but it remains to be seen whether this will change this summer when Liverpool eventually sign a holding midfielder to permanently replace Fabinho.