Pundit Neil Mellor has admitted that he was surprised by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s decision to substitute midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai against Fulham.
Mellor was speaking on TalkSPORT (4/12 7:44am) and reflecting on one of the best matches of the Premier League season.
Liverpool’s home record is absolutely sensational this season, but that was suddenly in doubt with ten minutes to play yesterday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side took the lead twice in the first half through two of the best goals you’ll see all year.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick has technically gone down as an own goal after it cannoned off the bar onto the back of the diving Bernd Leno.
There was no doubt who scored Alexis Mac Allister’s unbelievable half-volley from 30 yards out.
The Argentine couldn’t have struck his shot any sweeter and once again left the German goalkeeper with no chance.
However, Liverpool went into the break level thanks to goals from Harry Wilson and Kenny Tete.
Klopp had to make some big calls against Fulham and decided to bring off Dominik Szoboszlai just after the hour mark.
He was replaced by Cody Gakpo as Liverpool chased a winner and although none of Liverpool’s forwards scored any of their four goals, you can see what Klopp was trying to do.
The Hungarian international has already been described as a ‘massive upgrade’ on his predecessors but Klopp decided he needed to make a change to win the game.
You can’t complain about the results even if the goals didn’t come from the expected source.
Mellor surprised Klopp substituted Szoboszlai against Fulham
Speaking about Liverpool’s midfield, Mellor said: “Yeah, I thought Endo did well when he came on, Trent did well when he went into midfield.
“I mean Mac Allister’s settled in pretty well, Szoboszlai as well. I think he was a bit disappointed when he came off that was maybe a little bit of a surprise.”
There has been plenty of discussion about the balance of Liverpool’s midfield, with Owen Hargreaves recently saying that Klopp still requires a holding midfielder.
He can completely rely on Szoboszlai who has settled into life in the Premier League extremely quickly.
Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch have both been tested in the deepest midfield role this season, with Stefan Bajcetic having been unavailable for the majority of the season.
Klopp was very much justified in his decision to substitute Szoboszlai against Fulham with the team chasing a goal.
The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah were causing Fulham’s defence plenty of problems, while the visitors struggled to get a foothold on the game.
It could have easily backfired when Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored Fulham’s third, but they were bailed out by two more sensational strikes.
The gamble to rest Szoboszlai ahead of busy Christmas schedule pays off
Klopp is still trying to work out not only his best team but also the best system to play them in, with Szoboszlai’s relationship with Alexander-Arnold set to play a key role going forward even if they didn’t combine too often against Fulham.
In his 64 minutes on the pitch yesterday, Szoboszlai only misplaced six passes, and while he only created one chance for his teammates, it was a day where clear-cut opportunities simply weren’t being taken anyway.
He won three out of his four duels and was only forced into a single clearance such was Liverpool’s dominance.
With Sheffield United up next, he’ll be expected to continue helping Liverpool dominate games.
They have to wait for Arsenal to slip up now after leapfrogging Manchester City in the table following their late draw with Tottenham.
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