Dominik Szoboszlai has become embroiled in a spat with Real Madrid ’s Arda Guler in the aftermath of Hungary’s Nations League defeat by Turkey.
The latter won 6-1 on aggregate over two legs to earn promotion to the top tier of the Nations League, but that came at the expense of Hungary, who dropped to League B. A 3-0 home loss on Sunday ensured the fate of Szoboszlai and his international team-mates.
For the Liverpool midfielder it was particularly frustrating as he ceded possession ahead of Turkey’s second goal on the night, and that emotion boiled over when he was involved in an on-field clash with Guler, who netted from that error. He appeared to tell Szoboszlai to be quiet, putting his fingers to his lips in the direction of the 24-year-old.
That was picked up by Hungarian news outlet, Nemzeti Sport, who posted the photo on their Instagram feed. Szoboszlai savagely replied in the comments beneath, writing ‘1088’, in reference to the number of minutes played by Guler at club level this season.
The ex-Fenerbahce man has started just six La Liga games all campaign, the last of which came in December. In contrast, Szoboszlai has played 2,887 minutes for Liverpool and has only missed two Premier League matches all term.
As for the game itself, the Hungary captain endured a difficult night. Nemzeti Sport, awarded Szoboszlai a 5/10 for his efforts, although not as harsh as the 0/10 given to goalkeeper Denes Dibusz.
“He fought off a corner with a huge sprint, from which he put himself in a shooting position with a good trick, unfortunately the finish failed in the 16th minute, then he laughed at Arda Guler, who told him to be quiet,” was the Hungarian outlet’s assessment of Szoboszlai.
“In the 27th minute, after his great teamwork, he started Bolla Bendeguz, two minutes later he was pulled back for a yellow card, the ball touched the crossbar with his free kick. He was responsible for the second Turkish goal, he lost the ball and stepped in front of Arda Guler at the moment of the pass.”
Szoboszlai also offered a rallying cry after the game, calling for unity and confidently predicting the side will regain its place in League A of the Nations league. “Now the [team] needs to pull itself together a bit, everyone, myself included, and come up with something for the summer that will take us forward and help us in the World Cup qualifiers,” he said, as per Rangado.
“I can’t exactly articulate what it is, but the team needs stability so that everyone knows what their job is, to fight for every ball and not come out of the duels as losers. And then luck will be on our side.
“We played here for two seasons, now we’ve been relegated to [League] B, but I don’t think anyone thought we’d stay after the first year. The people who want us to be in Group B are happy now, but they won’t be when we get back. Or the people who want us not to be in the World Cup won’t be happy either. Those who can’t cheer when we’re about to lose shouldn’t cheer when we win either.”
