Abigail Rudkin says what ‘Forgotten’ Liverpool ace must do after what happened v Crystal Palace
Abigail Rudkin has backed Dominik Szoboszlai to succeed at Liverpool this season after he was dropped to the bench for the 1-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday (5 October).
The Reds maintained top spot in the Premier League courtesy of a goal by Diogo Jota at Selhurst Park. Curtis Jones replaced Szoboszlai in the starting lineup.
While the Hungarian replaced Alexis Mac Allister at half-time, the match marked the first time under Arne Slot that he has been removed from the starting lineup.
Speaking exclusively to Liverpool News, Rudkin believes there is more to come from Szoboszlai this season.
“I would say that he started off to a bit of a quiet start, and it was hard to see what he sought of brought to the midfield when you have the likes of [Alexis] Mac Allister and [Ryan] Gravenberch,” she said. “Obviously Gravenberch is doing absolutely brilliant so far this season, and Szoboszlai sort of felt like the forgotten man in that midfield.
“He was making more errors and there was times he either had the chance to shoot and he just wasn’t shooting, or he was looking for the pass at times when he didn’t need to and I do think he’s starting to refine his game a little bit more.
“I don’t know if that’s Arne [Slot] learning how to use him, how to play him, play to his strengths. I don’t know if that’s something we’ve been working on in training, possibly.
“We’re only nine games in, and we’ve won eight of them, so it’s hard to sort of critique one player but as I say, he has really improved. He seems to be showing why he deserves to start for this team and why that midfield should stay Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai.”
Dominik Szoboszlai ready to hold the mantle at Liverpool
The 23-year-old has endured mixed fortunes since moving to Anfield from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023 and fortunately for Liverpool fans, the midfielder is seemingly making positive strides this season.
Szoboszlai has found himself in the number 10 role for Slot and, with only one assist in seven Premier League appearances, his efforts further up the pitch are currently being outperformed by teammate Mac Allister in the metrics.
However, his second-half cameo against Crystal Palace was reminiscent of the midfielder the Reds forked £60million for from Leipzig.
As per Sofascore, Szoboszlai completed 100 per cent of his dribble attempts and he completed 80 per cent of his passes, with one key pass.
With Gravenberch and Mac Allister cementing their place in the side through their performances this season, Szoboszlai remains the only question mark in the midfield and will surely face stiff competition for his place from Jones and Harvey Elliott once he returns from injury.
His work rate and defensive efforts are undoubted. However, Szoboszlai must add more goal contributions to his game, and with a difficult fixture schedule ahead after the international break stretching to mid-December, it’s time for the Hungary captain to show Slot how important he is to this Liverpool side.
In other Liverpool news, here’s how each Reds player rated against Crystal Palace.
For more Liverpool news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.