The Hungarian captain saluted the fans after scoring in the extra time.Continue reading
Dominik Szoboszlai scored a brilliant goal to give Liverpool the lead against West Ham United in Wednesday’s EFL Cup quarter final. The Reds went on to improve on their excellent first-half performance in the second half to beat the visitors 5-1 and progress to the top four in the cup, reports Magyar Nemzet.
Liverpool failed to take home a trophy last season and are now looking to put their best foot forward in every series. Accordingly, for the quarter-final clash against West Ham United, unlike his usual approach to tournaments, the coach has used almost his strongest starting line-up, with only Alisson Becker, Mohamed Salah, and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench.
It would be an exaggeration to say that Jürgen Klopp’s Reds had many opportunities in the first half, but they did have some threatening efforts other than the goal. West Ham failed to create a single chance in the first forty-five minutes. In the second half, Liverpool’s dominance became even more overwhelming, and it was clear that the home side were keen to put the game to bed as soon as possible. They did not have to wait long for a second goal, as Darwin Núnez’s pass was followed by Curtis Jones’ goal in the 56th minute.
Szoboszlai’s goal was not the only message to his critics.
He made the most key assists (three) in the first half and also attempted several shots.
Despite all this, he did not stay on the pitch for long; Klopp certainly had the Hungarian midfielder replaced in the 60th minute with the game against Arsenal on Saturday in mind, while Virgil van Dijk and Wataru Endo also left the pitch. They were replaced by Salah, Alexander-Arnold, and Ibrahima Konaté.
Liverpool did not slow down after taking a two-goal lead, and they also scored in the last 20 minutes. Although West Ham managed to score a goal, at the other end Cody Gakpo, Salah, and Jones (for the second time) also found the net. The result was a surprisingly smooth 5-1 victory for Liverpool, who progressed to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup after Fulham, Middlesborough, and Chelsea.
The value of Szoboszlai was just updated on Tuesday by Transfermarkt.
Szoboszlai, now worth 75 million euros, is Liverpool’s most valuable player, tied with Colombian striker Luis Díaz.
The last time Transfermarkt changed the value of Dominik Szoboszlai was in October, when they increased his value from 50 to 70 million euros.
The English club paid just that much, 75 million euros, for Szoboszlai to Leipzig in the summer, as this was the amount included in his contract as a release clause. When Klopp decided to pay this much for him, many people thought it was an advance on his trust, but it seems that Szoboszlai ‘caught up’ with his price in a few months.
Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image: Facebook/Liverpool