Arda Guler vs Dominik Szoboszlai – Settling the rivalry with cold, hard stats | OneFootball

The battle between Arda Guler and Dominik Szoboszlai is not just limited to international; football—it has now turned into a personal rivalry.

The two talented midfielders, representing Real Madrid and Liverpool, respectively, have on the neck of each other on numerous occasions, and a recent exchange of words has only added more fuel to the fire.

After Hungary’s match against Turkey, Szoboszlai took a dig at Guler, suggesting that the Real Madrid prodigy’s limited game time at the Spanish club was a sign of his lack of importance.

This was a clear attempt to undermine Guler, who has indeed struggled with injuries and competition for minutes in an already star-studded Madrid squad.

Guler’s response

However, Guler did not let this insult go unanswered. The Turkish youngster fired back on his Instagram story with a brutal response:

“This guy is a joke. Isn’t 6 goals enough to shut you up?”—a direct reference to Turkey’s dominant 6-1 aggregate victory over Hungary.

This response sent social media into a frenzy, as fans from both sides debated who had the upper hand in this feud.

A look at the statistics

Guler vs Szoboszlai in numbers.

Statistically, the two players are closely matched despite the fact that there is a major difference between their starting roles at their clubs.

As seen in their SofaScore ratings, Szoboszlai boasts a slightly better rating (7.18) compared to Guler (7.13) but has played significantly more minutes.

While Szoboszlai has more goals (7 to Guler’s 3), the Real Madrid youngster has better per-90 metrics, including key passes, dribbles, and duels won—highlighting his efficiency despite playing fewer minutes.

To put things into perspective, Guler, in his 1111 minutes of action, averages 2.75 key passes per 90 minutes compared to Szoboszlai’s 1.77. Furthermore, the Turk also completes more successful dribbles per 90’ (1.38) than the Hungarian (0.87).

With this rivalry now extending beyond international duty, all eyes will be on how Guler and Szoboszlai perform for their clubs.

Sadly, a Champions League showdown between Real Madrid and Liverpool cannot add another chapter to this heated battle as Liverpool have been knocked out of the competition.