Thiago’s replacement, signed by Liverpool earlier because Jürgen Klopp calls him a “final third monster,”

Thiago’s replacement, signed by Liverpool earlier because Jürgen Klopp calls him a “final third monster,”

One Liverpool man has posted some remarkable final-third numbers in its previous two matches. It is a powerful reminder to Jürgen Klopp of his on-ball value.

 

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ByAndrew BeasleyFootball writer

07:00, 24 SEP 2023

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JURGEN KLOPP PRE-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE | LIVERPOOL VS WEST HAM

 

Thanks to the lower standard of opposition they will face, Liverpool players should have the opportunity to stat-pad a little in the Europa League. We’ve already seen that in the club’s first match in the competition this season.

 

Against LASK, Darwin Núñez scored the first penalty of his career with the Reds, Ryan Gravenberch picked up just his third assist in continental competitions while Mohamed Salah extended his record as Liverpool’s leading scorer in European football.

 

The Europa League also offers greater opportunity to rest key men than the Champions League does. Having played every minute of the first five league matches, Dominik Szoboszlai was restricted to a 30-minute cameo in Austria. He still found time to post some interesting numbers.

 

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The Hungarian midfielder completed 25 of his 27 passes, giving him the best success rate of any player who attempted more than four on either side. More notable was that Szoboszlai successfully played seven passes into the final third, second only to Stefan Bajčetić, who featured for twice as long and only bettered him by one. Only twice last season did a Liverpool player complete more when playing for no more than half an hour, with Jordan Henderson logging 10 at both Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth.

 

Completing a few passes against a LASK side ranked 154th best in the world by Opta is hardly cause for celebration, particularly when coming off the bench fresh after they’ve been playing for an hour. However, it merely provided another demonstration of perhaps Szoboszlai’s greatest strength and one which he delivered with aplomb at Wolves last weekend.

 

In that match, the 22-year-old completed a remarkable 15 passes into the final third. Szoboszlai also carried the ball into that zone six times, giving him a total of 21 attacking third entries for the match. While each half of that equation was topped by one of Jürgen Klopp’s players in 2022/23, nobody matched the combined total, with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 18 at Southampton on the final day the best in show last season.

 

Szoboszlai started his debut Liverpool campaign quietly on this front, making just three final third entries in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea. However, as the Reds had their joint-fourth lowest share of possession in their 301 league matches under Klopp, the former RB Leipzig man was never going to post a huge number. As they were hampered by red cards in the following two fixtures, his figures remained low there too.

 

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And while the final third entries didn’t particularly rise against Aston Villa, Szoboszlai bagged his first Liverpool goal while also making seven shot-creating actions after posting 11 in total in the opening three games. Perhaps this enabled his confidence to blossom but the increase in passes into the attacking third has been great to see.

 

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His career trend is very positive too. Something of a monster in the numbers in the final third, he averaged 2.92 per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga in 2021/22, 3.93 last season and is at 4.80 in the Premier League. It’s interesting to see that Szoboszlai’s rate for passing into the penalty area has headed in the opposite direction, suggesting his best work is now being done from deeper areas.

 

Could he therefore be the long-term replacement for Thiago Alcântara, at least in this regard? While clearly different types of players, the veteran was the only Liverpool midfielder posting the sort of passing numbers that Szoboszlai offered at Molineux last weekend.

 

If he can consistently provide the on-ball quality that has been a hallmark of Thiago’s career while also having the physical attributes that enable him to put the hard yards in and at high speed, the Reds could have a real player on their hands in Szoboszlai. Having taken to him immediately, Liverpool supporters would not be surprised if this were the case.

 

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