Arne Slot's Liverpool system can get Dominik Szoboszlai back to his best

The rumoured £60million fee the Reds paid to activate his RB Leipzig release clause initially appeared to be a bargain.

His powerful box-to-box displays as Liverpool mounted a surprise title challenge even resulted in some declaring that the Merseyside club finally had their Steven Gerrard successor.

Having been deployed as a wide forward during his time in Germany, Szoboszlai seamlessly adapted to life in a deeper role following the move to the Premier League.

At times, he was even part of a double pivot and Jurgen Klopp really made the most of the Hungary skipper’s engine.

All of that intense football caught up with him though.

He missed the best part of two months following the turn of the year with hamstring injuries. Szoboszlai was rushed back a little too soon from the first stint on the sidelines and suffered a reoccurrence.

The Liverpool No8 struggled to recapture that early season form after returning from the second spell out of the team. He started just five of the final 12 matches in the Premier League having lost his place in the team to the impressive Harvey Elliott.

He acknowledged his struggles, too, saying: “Perhaps I set the bar too high because I think there were certain matches where I couldn’t bring out the best in myself,” when speaking in an interview with MLSZ TV.

And Szoboszlai wasn’t at his best for Hungary at Euro 2024 either. Hungary FA president Sandor Csanyi offered up a reason as to why his performances were underwhelming: “He was not in top form at the European Championships, which is also due to the fact that he has not been 100% since his winter injury and in the tournament.”

The one-time Red Bull Salzburg youngster now appears to be over the injury issues though. He scored the only goal of the game against Real Betis as Liverpool kicked off the Arne Slot era with a win - the behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston North End does not count.

In the game in Pittsburgh, Szoboszlai was used as one of the double-10s as Slot was forced into using a striker-less system.

Szoboszlai latched onto a Mohamed Salah pass to fire a fine finish into the bottom corner from a difficult angle.

If this is going to be the norm for the new season, Szoboszlai might once again look to be a £60million bargain.

If this friendly is anything to go by, Slot wants to use his No8 in the final phase rather than in the initial build-up phase, as you can see in the image above.

At times last season, Szoboszlai was acting as a facilitator for both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah. It limited his involvement as a goal threat and as a creator.

Instead of looking to maximise these parts of his game, Klopp seemed to rely on his physical traits.

It didn’t waste him but it didn’t necessarily make the most of his strengths.

For example, the 23-year-old finished with three goals and two assists in the Premier League. The total of five goal involvements is significantly down from the 14 he managed for RB Leipzig in each of the two full seasons he had at the Red Bull Arena.

While with the German side, he had an expected goals (xG) per 90 average of 0.24 in German top flight. For Liverpool last term, it was just 0.16. Despite averaging more shots for the Reds, he wasn’t anywhere near as much of a goal threat.

His expected assists (xA) per 90 average was down too from 0.31 across two seasons with Die Roten Bullen to 0.22 at Anfield.

At a glance, the difference might seem minimal but, when coupled with the xG, it is 0.14 on a per 90 basis.

Over a 38-game campaign, it adds up. In fact, that is a drop of 5.32 goal expected goal involvements (xGI) when comparing his averages in Germany to those he posted in England.

He was also averaging fewer shot-creating actions last season (4.92 down from 5.52).

Szoboszlai just wasn’t the same attacking threat for Liverpool as he was for Leipzig. That was by design though.

He was more involved in the build-up, averaging more passes and having a higher success rate, while also attempting more challenges and involving himself in more duels.

Klopp needed his No8 to be an all-action, box-to-box midfielder and he was that.

It didn’t necessarily nullify him but he wasn’t allowed to be the player he was in Germany. The player that was courted by a lot of Europe’s elite clubs.

Slot, however, might see him as a final phase game-changer and this could see him back among the goals and chipping in with assists.

The Dutch tactician found a way to unlock Calvin Stengs and Quinten Timber while with Feyenoord, there’s no reason he can’t help Szoboszlai scale his output.

And Liverpool as a team will benefit greatly from their No8 being involved in the final third a lot more.

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