Dominik Szoboszlai RUNS the show for Hungary so why doesn't he do it for Liverpool?

Dominik Szoboszlai’s Hungary went down 3-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League League A v League B promotion / relegation playoff tie against Turkey on Thursday night at Galatasaray’s RAMS Park.

Marco Rossi’s side have a job on their hands in order to recover their form and stay in League A ahead of the return leg in Budapest on Sunday.

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They will be doing so without two key players in Zsolt Nagy and Andras Schafer - who was one of their best performers on the night in Istanbul.

If they are to get anything out of the tie, much as usual will depend on Szoboszlai. He was again absolutely crucial for his national team on Thursday night, at the heart of everything his side did well.

With the No10 on his back and the captain’s armband around his biceps, Szoboszlai looks every inch the flagship player for his national team. And more often than not he plays like it.

Although his side went down on Thursday - undone by individual errors - Szoboszlai’s performance on the ball was a joy to behold.

Stationed in a central midfield position, as seen in his heatmap, the 24-year-old was content to pick the ball up on the half-turn, providing several key passes and through balls for his teammates.

Szoboszlai running the show at No10

He exudes a rare confidence playing for Hungary, probing at opposition defences, providing deft touches and even the odd nutmeg.

“Our team captain, Dominik Szoboszlai, as always, tried to get into the game often, he had the most ball touches of the Hungarian team, 71,” wrote Nemzeti Sport.

“It is worth highlighting that Szoboszlai had the most key passes of the Hungarian team, resulting in five goal chances, and also the most passes (7).”

If a Liverpool fan were to watch him over 90 minutes for Hungary they might see more Curtis Jones in Szoboszlai than the Reds’ version of their own player.

And given his scale of influence and effectiveness for the Magyars, some fans even ask why he plays so differently for his club side.

One answer could be confidence.

Szoboszlai is probably the best Hungarian player of the modern era and he knows it. He is the team’s focal point, becoming captain at the age of only 22.

He demands the ball, his teammates seek him for every attack and he has an assuredness about him that you would expect from an international superstar. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s Hungary’s Beckham.

Szoboszlai's differing role

Then there’s the tactics.

Marco Rossi is content to let Szoboszlai drift at times, he finds space in the midfield and final third in order to work his magic. It is a very different role he is asked to carry out for the national team than it is for Liverpool.

For his club he is a pressing monster.

He is forever hassling and harrying opposition defenders and midfielders into turnovers. Moreover, he spends a lot of time covering in the right-back position - as seen by his Premier League season heatmap - as well as getting through defensive work on Mohamed Salah’s right-wing station.

£60m pressing monster

He has proven with Hungary that he CAN be a creative fulcrum but at Liverpool he’s not given the same responsibility. Maybe that will change as his career develops but right now the £60 million man is in the team as much for what he can do off the ball as what he can on it.

He’s got a higher standard of teammate at Anfield. There isn’t a question that he belongs in that company but he’s not head and shoulders above it - in ability and stature - like he is with Hungary.

Liverpool don’t play the way Hungary do, with the team set up around Szoboszlai’s talents. He has a far bigger role to play in his out-of-possession duties that perhaps obscures what he does with the ball at his feet.

He will again be thrust into the heart of the action on Sunday as Hungary attempt to climb out of a two-goal hole. If they are to get anything out of the two-legged tie then Szoboszlai is sure to have his say.

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