Liverpool finally replace Philippe Coutinho with DREAM regen

While Tottenham barely managed to turn up against Liverpool on Thursday, the Reds were magnificent in their efforts to overturn a 1-0 deficit and reach consecutive EFL Cup Finals.

From start to finish, it was clear that the players knew what they had to do and Arne Slot was left with a wry grin on his face as his team romped home in one of the most one-sided semi-finals in recent memory.

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At the heart of the team's efforts was each of the players delivering to the best of their ability, from the defenders keeping Spurs' attackers quiet all game - ensuring they failed to get a shot on target - to the midfield engine room working overtime, to the attackers flourishing in front of goal. It was an overall team masterclass.

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After an indifferent couple of weeks, despite putting in a shift off the ball whenever he plays, Dominik Szoboszlai was able to deliver in front of goal, a rare sight for Liverpool fans. While the Hungarian is classified as an attacking midfielder, his role in the team is often much more complex than he gets credit for.

Against Tottenham, everything fell into place, as he delivered one of his standout performances, leaving fans excited about his potential role in the remainder of the season.

Slot's Coutinho regen comes to the fore

While the early part of Jurgen Klopp's reign at Liverpool involved Philippe Coutinho as the team's creative force, the German manager went on to evolve the team to utilise a workman-like midfield that progressively carried the ball forward as a unit.

Academy prospect Harvey Elliott was added to the team to occasionally play as an attacking midfielder, restoring the long-lost Coutinho dynamic to the Reds, but it wasn't until Szoboszlai joined that fans felt the Brazilian had fully been replaced.

Even then, the way Klopp and subsequently Arne Slot have used him has been in a more free role, allowing him to be positioned as a classic No10, while also dropping deep as a No8, working tirelessly off the ball to press the opposition, while also putting in a defensive shift so that Liverpool remained solid at the back.

His lack of goal contributions has been a noted criticism because while he does so much for the team when he is fielded, he is commonly mistaken for a Martin Odegaard-type player, which he isn't. Although he ought to be more prolific in front of goal given the positions he often takes up.

Against Tottenham, the Hungarian managed to deliver a complete performance.

Per OptaJoe, Szoboszlai had five shots at goal, nine touches in the opposition box, created five chances, won possession nine times, and scored a goal - which is the first time any Liverpool player has met those totals in a match since Coutinho in 2017.

In addition to those metrics, he created two big chances, made four accurate crosses, and had 100% accuracy on his three long balls, while winning seven of the fifteen duels he was involved in, alongside three tackles and an interception.

To produce all of that inside 90 minutes of a semi-final for Liverpool at Anfield is nothing short of remarkable. You could hardly ask for a more complete performance.

And this isn't the first time he's delivered against Tottenham this season. Back in December when the Reds won 6-3 away from home, the Hungarian scored and assisted, created 2.11 xg on his own and won six of his nine duels.

His performances across the season as a whole have been impressive. His absence away from the team is felt in their team's overall performance level and it is clear what Szoboszlai brings to the table.

But if he can just improve the frequency of his masterclasses, then Liverpool's job of securing the Premier League title this year becomes that little bit easier. The goalscoring pressure has been largely placed on Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah this season, and while both scored, their role was supplemented by efforts from the midfield and the defence.

On countless occasions, Liverpool have been able to lock out the opposition, either by keeping a clean sheet or conceding from the one chance that the Reds have permitted them to have across the game. But when Tottenham visited Anfield they were reduced to no efforts on target.

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Of course, you can't play Spurs every week, and Liverpool will know that Ange Postecoglou's side weren't at their best, but if the team's performance levels can remain in that sort of stratosphere for the remainder of the campaign, then there will almost be a guarantee of something to celebrate come May.

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