Dominik Szoboszlai knows the importance of his ‘dirty job’ with Liverpool
The Reds have made a strong start to the season under Arne Slot but face a testing run of fixtures.
Dominik Szoboszlai is working hard to improve his goalscoring return but insisted it was more important that he is doing a “dirty job” for Arne Slot’s Liverpool side.
Last season, Szoboszlai chipped in with eight goals in 55 appearances for the Reds but so far this season his only strike came in the 3-1 Champions League win over AC Milan in September, and that has led to complaints from sections of the Liverpool support and, sometimes, his own manager.
The 23-year-old said he is putting in the hours on the training ground to improve but he is more interested in the team’s results than his own numbers.
When asked if he was happy with his form ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig, Szoboszlai said he was not.
“It can be always better so, no,” the 23-year-old said. “I can play even better. I can score more goals and do more assists. But I am doing a dirty job for the team and that is most important for me. We are top of the league and if I don’t score goals that’s the most important for me.
“If we are top of the league and I don’t score a goal I’ll take it…I’m trying to work on it to be in a position to score more goals. It will take time but I will get there.”
Wednesday night will see Liverpool and Szoboszlai come up against his former club RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Szoboszlai spent two seasons with Leipzig after joining from sister club RB Salzburg in 2021, leaving for Liverpool in a deal worth a reported £60m in the summer of 2023.
“It has been a quick one and a half years [since leaving],” the Hungary international said. “I came here as a young talent and left as a grown man and now I’m playing in the Premier League.
If we are top of the league and I don't score a goal I'll take it
“I learned a lot of stuff that I didn’t know before. You can always learn something from different coaches and different players and I can only say positive things (about the club)…
“I’m happy to be back and to see old friends, and also the fans. I couldn’t really say a goodbye to them because my last transfer was a little bit quick.”
Liverpool travelled to Germany on the back of Sunday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea, a result that lifted them back to the top of the Premier League.
They also have a maximum six points from their opening two Champions League games but Slot still sees much he wants to change about his side.
“You can’t ask for much more when it comes to the results, but when it comes to what we want there is always room for improvement,” he said.
“I don’t think we outplayed Chelsea, we certainly didn’t, I think they were more dominant with the ball. In an ideal world you would have seen us dominate the game like we did so many other games. We are not there yet.
“The good thing about the team and our result is when we face a team like Chelsea or (Manchester) United you see a team fighting for every centimetre, every metre, fighting for every moment and that can be decisive in the game and that’s what we showed.
“I am hoping that in the near future we will play a difficult game like the Milan game or the United game and be more dominant than we were against Chelsea.”
Diogo Jota did not travel to Germany after suffering an injury against Chelsea, with Slot saying he does not know how long the forward will be out with bruising.
Conor Bradley and Federico Chiesa have likewise not travelled, along with longer-term absentees Alisson Becker and Harvey Elliot.