If Dominik Szoboszlai had hoped to get away from the disappointments suffered at Liverpool over the past week or two, then the international break has provided no respite. Hungary lost its Nations League tie 6-1 on aggregate to Turkiye, and the national team captain has now got sucked into a confrontation with Real Madrid wonderkid Arda Guler.
Guler bagged the second goal of the second leg encounter, a humiliating 3-0 home defeat for Hungary. He and Szoboszlai exchanged words during the contest, with the Real Madrid man appearing to “shush” the Liverpool ace following a dispute over a decision.
Nemzeti Sport Online shared a photo of the incident online after the match. And none other than Szoboszlai was quick to show up in the comments, with a message that’s quite hard to believe in the era of slick Anfield media training and hefty Premier League fines.
At first glance, it is difficult to decode Szoboszlai’s reply. “1088′” was all he wrote in the comments.
But having done some digging, numerous internet sleuths have determined that this is the number of minutes Guler has played for Real Madrid in all competitions this season. Szoboszlai has seemingly whipped up his opposite number’s Transfermarkt page in order to make his point.
It’s a savage response, and one that will likely strike a nerve. Guler would certainly have hoped to have played more for Real Madrid, especially after impressing at last summer’s European Championships.
An even more damning statistic than the one Szoboszlai used is that Guler has made just six La Liga starts, and one in the Champions League. As it happens, that was a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, where he was withdrawn after less than a hour.
Szoboszlai, by comparison, has played 2887 minutes for Liverpool this season, featuring as a mainstay in Arne Slot’s midfield. Having said that, he is four years Guler’s senior, so you would expect him to be more established.
(Image: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The future undoubtedly looks bright for Guler. There’s a reason Real Madrid was so keen to sign him from Fenerbahce, and while he might be beginning to fear he will need to take the Martin Odegaard route to the top, there’s every chance he gets there eventually.
Liverpool has even been linked with Guler on occasion. Funnily enough, Szoboszlai would probably be his main competition for minutes, a battle that Harvey Elliott is already finding very difficult.
On the whole, Slot probably won’t be delighted to see Szoboszlai get so easily sucked in by someone who is barely more than a teenager. But it’s always refreshing to see a bit of personality in a sport that is becoming increasingly sanitized — and if he is going to lose his head a little, better that he does it while away with Hungary.
Once he returns to Liverpool, full focus will be required. The Reds might have suffered some setbacks lately, but the Premier League title is still there for the taking, provided complacency does not creep in.
If Liverpool can win six of its final nine games, then Szoboszlai will claim his first Premier League winner’s medal. That might ultimately be a better comeback against Guler than a cheeky Instagram comment.
