Why Szoboszlai Should Play Higher in Liverpool’s Attack

Szoboszlai is doing everything right, just not in the right place

Liverpool started the season with a curious record: two wins, three draws, no defeats, yet no one quite knew what they were watching. The energy was there, the intent was there, but something felt slightly out of tune.

In the middle of that puzzle sat Dominik Szoboszlai, all running power and technical grace, yet often appearing a touch too far from the parts of the pitch where he can truly hurt opponents.

That is where the latest argument from PedTalks research and recent pundit discussion lands: Liverpool do not need a different Szoboszlai, they need him in a different postcode.

The hybrid eight that looks a lot like a ten

Szoboszlai has largely operated as a right sided number eight in Liverpool’s evolving shape. On paper, it is a midfield role. In reality, his natural game constantly pulls him higher.

He likes to receive on the half turn between opposition lines, take one or two touches to set the ball, then a third to drive or release a through pass. When he starts too deep, those actions either arrive too late or never arrive at all.

Tactically, Liverpool have asked Szoboszlai to cover a lot of grass:

• Drop beside the holding midfielder in the build up
• Press high alongside the forwards out of possession
• Offer width or underlaps on the right in attacking phases

It made sense as a starting idea. His engine is outstanding and his defensive work rate is honest. Yet every time Liverpool were chasing a goal, his best moments tended to come when he abandoned the deeper responsibility and played almost as a second striker or pure ten.

PedTalks research indicates internal discussion at Liverpool already recognised this tension last season. The coaching staff wanted his creativity without losing the rest defence balance that protects a sometimes fragile back line. The answer was a compromise role. That compromise is now under scrutiny.

Liverpool’s shape asks a big question: where is the creator zone?

Liverpool’s current structure tilts heavily toward the right. Trent Alexander Arnold steps into midfield, Mohamed Salah starts high and wide then moves infield, and the right sided eight shuttles between both.

When Szoboszlai fills that eight slot, all three are trying to occupy or influence similar channels. Trent wants to be the playmaker, Salah wants to be the finisher and creator, and Szoboszlai is asked to do a little of both while also tracking back.

The result: Szoboszlai often becomes the sacrifice. He drops deeper to allow Trent to dictate. Or he drifts wide to give Salah room inside. His passing lanes are crowded, his shooting positions are harder to find, and he spends as much time securing transitions as he does architecting attacks.

Liverpool’s bigger issue in several matches this season has not been ball progression. It has been turning pressure into clean, high value chances. The final pass has lacked clarity. The late run into the box has been missing. The disguised through ball has arrived a fraction too late.

Those are exactly the actions that define Szoboszlai at his best.

Further up field, higher returns

Move Szoboszlai ten to fifteen yards up, and the picture changes quickly.

Instead of receiving the ball with a full defensive block in front of him, he would start in pockets around the edge of the area. From there he can:

• Combine quickly with the central striker and wide forward
• Release runners from deep with first time passes
• Hit early shots from zone fourteen and the inside channels
• Press the opposition pivot immediately on turnovers

In a more advanced role, Liverpool do not ask him to be a controller. They ask him to be a difference maker.

Think of the second phases around the box where the ball drops loose or is cleared halfway. Right now, those often fall to the full backs or holding midfielder. They recycle possession, but the tempo eases. If those same balls fall to Szoboszlai in a permanent advanced zone, the outcome is more likely to be a shot, a sharp pass, or a dribble that destabilises the block.

This also suits his pressing strengths. Szoboszlai is not the most natural player when defending large spaces behind him in midfield. He is far more dangerous when he can hunt the ball in the final third, where one successful press instantly turns into a scoring chance.

What has to change around him

Pushing Szoboszlai higher is not as simple as telling him to stand closer to the striker. It requires adjustments around him.

First, Liverpool need a more stable double pivot behind him. If Trent moves inside, he must commit to a genuine midfield role, sitting alongside a dedicated holder rather than constantly vacating the zone. That base then allows the advanced midfielder to focus on creation rather than constant recovery running.

Second, the wide forward on his side has to adapt. When Szoboszlai moves into a central ten pocket, the winger can either stretch the play to the touchline or threaten runs in behind more often. That interplay can make Liverpool less predictable, especially against deep blocks that have grown accustomed to funneling Salah or his successor inside onto their stronger centre back.

Third, the full back on his side must choose their moments more carefully. If the full back bombs on aggressively at the same time as Szoboszlai steps high, Liverpool risk leaving too much space behind the ball. The timing of overlaps and underlaps becomes crucial so that the team structure stays compact.

Liverpool already flirted with these ideas during late match chases this season. When they were behind, Szoboszlai often drifted into a free role between midfield and attack, with an extra midfielder or defender introduced behind him. The team generally looked more threatening in those periods.

Why this tweak matters for the season

Liverpool sit in an awkward middle ground. They are not losing, yet they are not entirely convincing. The margins that decide title races or top four battles are narrow, often just a handful of matches where a creative spark turns one point into three.

Szoboszlai is one of the few players in this squad who can change those margins with a single action. Leaving him fifteen yards too deep for most of the match is a luxury Liverpool cannot really afford.

Modern football loves multifunctional midfielders who run, press and pass. Yet sometimes the most effective tactic is to simplify the job of your most talented creator.

Let Szoboszlai live closer to the penalty area, and Liverpool suddenly look less like a side searching for ideas and more like one that knows exactly where its edge lies.