This is a night that Dominik Szoboszlai wants to both remember and forget.
Only half an hour after the opening super product helped Liverpool take the lead in the 3rd round FA Cup match against Barnsley, the Hungarian international accidentally "opened the door" for the away team to narrow the gap. A backheel in his own penalty area became a clean pass for Adam Phillips to easily put the ball into the net.
In the second half of the match - where Liverpool finally won 4-1 - Szoboszlai continued to be at the center of the controversial moments. The foul on Reyes Cleary caused Barnsley to demand a penalty, before he himself had to head the ball to save, preventing Phillips's shot from heading straight into the goal during the time Liverpool was continuously pressed by Conor Hourihane's army.
Szoboszlai's energetic performance, in a way, reflects Liverpool's whole season. Those are bright moments intertwined with careless and lack of concentration handling. The victory over Barnsley is only the second time in 31 matches this season that Liverpool has won with a difference of 3 goals or more.
With a gap of 57 places in the English football system between the Premier League champion and the third-place team, Arne Slot must have waited for a more convincing demonstration. However, when Liverpool entered the 4th round, the Dutch strategist understood that the FA Cup could be the most feasible path for him and his students to reach the title this season.
After the lesson he paid the price for roteing too much against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup in October last year, Slot emphasized before the match that the squad he chose would give Liverpool the best chance to advance. He made six changes compared to the 0-0 draw with Arsenal. Slot gave the opportunity to young talent Rio Ngumoha, and at the same time brought Joe Gomez back. In theory, the quality difference between Liverpool and Barnsley is too obvious.
But Barnsley entered the game with a mentality of having nothing left to lose, and they almost took the lead after only 30 seconds if the post had not denied Davis Keillor-Dunn's dangerous header. However, Szoboszlai's beautiful long-range shot 8 minutes later was like a cold shower pouring directly into the visitors' ambitions.
However, The Kop this season is having a harmful habit: making things difficult for themselves. Szoboszlai's mistake right in front of the home team's goal created conditions for Phillips to score. The Barnsley midfielder was attached to the Liverpool academy for 8 years, and now he also has a memorable moment when facing his old club.
This is not the first time and I am talking generally. We led 2-0, everything was fine, and then conceded a goal too carelessly, too easily.
This situation is particularly prominent, even for us. Conceding a goal while leading 2-0 is unacceptable. If you concede an easy goal - something we have done many times this season - the opponent's mentality will completely change. That is definitely not beneficial for us" - Slot said.
Clearly, the tendency to shoot themselves in the foot instead of maintaining stability is a problem Slot and Liverpool are forced to solve if they want the second half of the season to bring the calm that they lack in most of the campaign.
Even so, Liverpool still has support points. They are unbeaten in 11 matches in all competitions, and the promotion of newcomer Wirtz may be the most positive signal. After a difficult early period since moving from Bayer Leverkusen for 100 million pounds, Wirtz currently has 5 assists in the last 6 matches. He scored the third goal against Barnsley, then assisted Hugo Ekitike to seal the score in injury time.
Slot understands that Liverpool must upgrade their performance when they meet Brighton in the 4th round. Last season, they were eliminated in this stage by Plymouth Argyle, before the hope of winning the Premier League became a consolation drug for the shameful fall.
And this season, when Liverpool has been eliminated from the Carabao Cup and is losing momentum in the Premier League title race, a convincing journey in the FA Cup could be the key for Slot to pull the team back to square one.
