Dominik Szoboszlai‘s first goal for Liverpool will take some beating, with the Hungarian revealing that he’d already tried to pull it off in training.
It took just three minutes of Sunday’s clash with Aston Villa for the Reds to take the lead, and it came via a stunning effort from Szoboszlai.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s corner curling through the throng of bodies and to the edge of the box, the No. 8 touched it down and produced the purest of strikes with his left foot.
The ball arrowed into the top corner and Liverpool were on their way to a 3-0 win, with Szoboszlai telling the club’s official website of his delight at finally executing the move.
“I’m really happy to score my first goal at Anfield. I think I couldn’t even wish [for] better,” he said.
“To be honest, I said it before, we practised sometimes in the training and I think two weeks ago I had two situations after each other [and] I shot the ball 50 metres over the goal.
“Today I was concentrating even more to hit the ball good and to hit the goal. It worked.”
It came two weeks after Jurgen Klopp himself said: “These kind of finishing, shooting skills, we didn’t see yet properly, but we’ll probably see that more often in the future.”
The speed with which Szoboszlai has settled into the side, having arrived as a 22-year-old from RB Leipzig, is testament to not only his quality but also his attitude.
Per FotMob, the Hungarian recovered possession on seven occasions, with Joe Gomez (eight) the only outfield player to record more on Sunday.
He is consistently one of the hardest-working players on the pitch, and to pair that with the ability he has on the ball makes him an invaluable asset.
Having inherited the No. 8 from Naby Keita, Szoboszlai looks to finally be taking up the mantle of its previous owner, Steven Gerrard.
It may be early days, but the £60 million signing could not have got off to a better start.
