Highlights

• Dominic Szoboszlai now looks like a 'different player' to the one we saw earlier in the season at Liverpool.
• The Athletic writer Andy Jones says the Hungarian has waned after previously being a 'physical freak of nature'.
• Szboszlai has suffered from injury issues recently which may have impacted his form on the pitch.

Liverpool were knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday evening after failing to overturn their 3-0 deficit against Atalanta. The Reds knew they were going into the game with a mountain to climb, especially in away territory. Jurgen Klopp's men won 1-0 on the night, but it was nowhere near enough, and they crashed out of Europe at the quarter-final stage.

Klopp made changes in midfield, with journalist Andy Jones noticing that the German boss turned to a formula that had worked well for him earlier in the season. Alexis Mac Allister was deployed in the defensive midfield role, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones as the two 'number eights'.

Szoboszlai Influence Has 'Drifted'

He is not making the same impact as before

Szoboszlai didn't have a poor performance against Atalanta by any means, but it was clear to see that he was struggling to have the same impact he did at the start of last season. He has struggled with injuries in recent months, which naturally gives some players a blow to their confidence. That, combined with the pressure of having to turn a big European deficit away from home, would be enough to affect any player at least a little.

The Athletic's Andy Jones noted: "As Szoboszlai jogged off alongside Salah, it was another performance where the Hungary international looked a different player to the one who took the Premier League by storm in the opening months.The Steven Gerrard comparisons were a huge compliment but the 23-year-old’s energy, exuberance and influence on games have drifted. He too has suffered injury problems since the start of 2024 but there were already signs that his impact on games was not as prominent as they were in earlier games.

"The ball-progressing creator of the midfield three and extra attacking man from deep is not carrying the same conviction. His pass map highlights how few of the passes he attempted were either in the final third or played forwards.

"Where everything seemed so effortless, now it looks hard. Earlier in the season, Szoboszlai could glide around the pitch with the energy of two players — a physical freak of nature. Now he, like Salah, looks human and through a combination of form, fitness and confidence his impact on games has decreased."

What GIVEMESPORT Thought of Szoboszlai

GIVEMESPORT gave Szoboszlai a seven out of 10 rating for his performance away in Atalanta. Writer Callum Altimas was impressed with the midfielder's "strong" and "fine" defensive display, but wanted more from the 23-year-old in attack, which was not on show in Italy.

The verdict of the player was: "It was a strong showing from Szoboszlai who's been off the pace a little lately. He offered very little going forwards, but did a fine job defensively and broke up several Atalanta moves with some vital tackles."

Midfield colleague Mac Allister also got a seven out of 10, with GIVEMESPORT noting: "Similarly to Szoboszlai, the Argentine looked good defensively in the middle of the field and did a solid job stepping into the passing lanes with five interceptions, but he couldn't quite get his game going offensively."