The moment has finally arrived: Dominik Szoboszlai led the Liverpool team onto the field as captain. The Reds defeated Wrexham 1-0 in a preseason match in New York last night, with Szoboszlai providing the assist to young Rio Ngumoha, Magyar Nemzet reported.
It has been a topic of discussion in Liverpool for some time now that Dominik Szoboszlai could one day become team captain, but that role currently belongs to Virgil van Dijk. However, the Dutch defender is not at the team’s training camp in the U.S. because he was given extra time off due to the World Cup. Instead, he recently began training at Liverpool’s training center. Meanwhile, Szoboszlai is proving in the United States that he is ready for a leadership role.
Dominik Szoboszlai. Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
That is exactly what the new coach, Andoni Iraola—who recently spoke about how Szoboszlai sets an example for the young players on the team—expects from the midfielder, who has extended his contract through 2031. The Hungarian midfielder already wore the captain’s armband in the first preseason match in the U.S., though he came on as a substitute—and contributed a goal and an assist to the 4-2 victory over Sunderland.
This time, however, Szoboszlai was team captain from the very start in the match against Wrexham, which kicked off at 1:30 a.m. Hungarian time.
He led the Liverpool team onto the field for the first time with the captain’s armband on his arm.
Szoboszlai repaid that trust with a strong performance. He also played a key role in the match’s most important moment: in the 75th minute, he initiated the play that culminated in Rio Ngumoha scoring the decisive goal off his assist. It was a lucky strike; the ball bounced off a defender’s foot and rolled into the net.
Szoboszlai directed play well, dominated the midfield, and even had a burst of speed where he left three defenders in his wake.
Szoboszlai was the standout player of the match—a fact noted by the city’s leading newspapers, the Liverpool Echo, which highlighted him right in the headline of its player ratings article.
He looked sharp from the start. He clearly enjoyed being the team captain that evening, and with his class, he took it to the next level. At times, the match was too easy for him”
they wrote about him, giving him a rating of 8. This was the highest grade awarded; even 22-year-old defender Luke Chambers received the same rating.
The team’s other Hungarian player, Milos Kerkez, was also in the starting lineup; he was substituted by Iraola at halftime. According to the Liverpool press, he delivered an average performance—he was solid on defense but needs to do more on offense—and received a grade of 6.
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Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured photo: MTI/Purger Tamás
