Dominik Szoboszlai's Thunderbolt Performance Against Tottenham

Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t just answer his critics. He silenced them with a thunderbolt.

Under scrutiny after a flat display against Fulham, the Hungarian midfielder produced a statement performance in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, driving Liverpool to a 3-1 win over Tottenham and into the fourth round. His long-range strike – a searing hit that ripped into the top corner – felt like a reminder, both to Anfield and to the wider league, of exactly who he is.

Was he aware of the noise around his form?

"Was there a criticism? I don't know, I didn't see but thanks for telling me," he said, with a hint of steel. "You know this goal [against Spurs] was for the people who are always next to me because we are also humans so we can have bad games."

That “bad game” came at Craven Cottage. In the 0-0 draw with Fulham, Szoboszlai struggled badly, winning just one of his 10 duels. The numbers were brutal and the reaction was swift. Pundits questioned his role. Supporters argued over his best position. Had he been pushed too deep? Was he being wasted?

Under Andoni Iraola, the entire midfield blueprint has shifted. The structure is bolder, more fluid, and far more demanding. Szoboszlai sits right in the middle of that storm.

A new Liverpool, a restless role

Iraola’s Liverpool no longer operates with a simple double pivot or a straightforward trio. The roles are layered, the distances different, the demands relentless.

"I think you guys see a little bit different because we play with one 6, one 8 and one 10," Szoboszlai explained. "So the 6 and the 8 are not next to each other, the 8 is a little bit higher and the 6 is a little bit deeper and the 10 is a little bit even higher so it is not two next to each other."

He’s not exaggerating his workload. Since arriving at Anfield, the 23-year-old has been moved around like a Swiss army knife in boots.

"Last week against Fulham I was a No. 8, I have been No. 2 as well, I have been No. 6, No. 8, No. 10, No. 7 also," he added.

The message is clear: label him if you want, he’ll just keep playing.

Iraola has leaned heavily on that versatility. With injuries biting and the system still bedding in, Szoboszlai has become the plug-in solution across the right side and centre of midfield, asked to press, create, cover and carry – often all in the same move. It’s a role that demands sharp thinking as much as sharp feet, something the manager has consistently highlighted.

Position debates and a pointed response

Outside the dressing room, the debate continues. Is Szoboszlai at his best as an attacking No. 10, free to roam and shoot? Or is he more valuable starting deeper, dictating the tempo and breaking lines with his passing and running?

Inside the dressing room, he isn’t losing sleep over it.

"No, I just want to be on the pitch," he said. "Maybe I am not at the best in the 6 position because I win one of the 10 duels, maybe next the game I am going to win eight out of 10, so I am then a good 6? So it's always balance."

That line cuts to the heart of the conversation. One bad game and the narrative shifts. One wonder goal and it swings back. Szoboszlai, though, is trying to live somewhere in the middle – where the work is done and the noise is ignored.

What he produced against Spurs, though, will be hard to ignore. The strike itself was pure theatre, but his all-round display mattered just as much: aggression without the ball, purpose with it, a constant willingness to take responsibility in tight spaces. This was not a player hiding from criticism. This was a player walking straight through it.

Cup statement, league demands

Liverpool’s win over Tottenham has teed up a fourth-round clash with Chelsea, a tie that already feels loaded with intrigue. But the calendar doesn’t allow time to bask in cup glory.

Bournemouth await on Sunday in the Premier League, and with them comes a different kind of examination. After the Fulham stalemate and the tactical tinkering of recent weeks, consistency is now the demand. Performances like the one against Spurs cannot become one-off responses; they have to form a pattern.

Szoboszlai knows that at a club of Liverpool’s scale, the real judgment comes not after a bad day, but after what follows it.

"There will be games where we are not playing at our best as a team, as personally me or somebody else," he said. "But trust me it is always leave the past and then the next one, the next one, the reaction is what matters."

The reaction on Tuesday night was emphatic. The next one comes on Sunday. How many more answers does Szoboszlai have in that right foot this season?