‘Superb’ – Sky pundits in total agreement about what they’ve seen from ‘100%’ Liverpool wrecking ball | OneFootball

Much has been made of Liverpool struggling in the opening 45 minutes only to improve drastically in the second to clinch the lion’s share of the points.

In fairness, there can be few complaints given that Arne Slot’s men continue to top both the Premier League and Champions League tables beyond the halfway mark in the 2024/25 season.

However, it’s a frustrating theme that has continued on from Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign in charge.

All the more pleasing, then, that Liverpool started swiftly with a goal at the 11-minute mark, courtesy of roaming midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.

Dominik Szoboszlai handed Liverpool a perfect start

(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

What a tidy finish it was from the former Red Bull Leipzig star, tucking away into the bottom-right corner from just outside the 18-yard-box after a superb assist from Ibrahima Konate.

“Brilliant finish, brilliant start for Liverpool. Eleven minutes gone and it’s game over,” Paul Merson spoke on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.

Nick Wright was in full agreement with his fellow Sky pundit on the quality of the Hungarian international’s finish: “Ipswich switch off for the first time and they are punished. Konate with the pass to Szoboszlai, who drives forward and unleashes a superb strike into the corner from outside the box.”

It takes the No.8’s tally up to nine goal contributions (four goals, five assists) across 28 games in all competitions for the season.

The midfielder had completed 100% of his passes (15/15) at the time of writing, according to stats compiled by Sofascore.

Why Arne Slot will be delighted

Our Dutch head coach recently challenged Szoboszlai to increase his end product following a prior campaign where he registered seven goals and four assists in 45 games (across all competitions).

The fact that the Hungarian is now only two goal contributions away from matching last season’s total is telling, and ultimately a positive indication that Slot will see his demands met come the end of May.

With multiple players having risen to the challenge in 2024/25 – most notably Ryan Gravenberch at the base of our midfield – it’s little wonder that we’ve managed to build on our return to Champions League football in 2024.

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