If Liverpool had lost to Real Madrid on Tuesday night, they would have seen Jude Bellingham score his third goal in as many Champions League games. Liverpool, who finished sixth last season, will have to settle for Europa League football and will be relegated to the stands for a competition it has won six times. Another is that Bellingham was once the club’s top priority, so every goal makes you wonder what may have been.
The summer acquisition of Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig for $74 million (£61 million/€70 million) may have brought some relief to the Reds’ fans. Szoboszlai has been a huge surprise for Liverpool so far, earning Player of the Month honors in August and coming in second place in September (according to Liverpool’s official website) to Mohamed Salah.
Since joining their respective teams, Bellingham and Szoboszlai have been great, though in very different ways. Their contrasting responsibilities within each team are highlighted in the table below (we’ve concentrated on club ranks rather than per-90 stats because Liverpool’s attacking numbers have been affected by four red cards in the space of nine matches).
For Los Blancos, Bellingham has taken the field in the number 10 position, playing in front of fellow midfielders such Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni and behind Joselu, Vincius Jr., and Rodrygo. While promoting his newest Galáctico, Carlo Ancelotti told the press, “his ability to get into the area is something we can make the most of this season” (via 90Min). This statement was interpreted as a strong suggestion that the player would be deployed as a goalscoring weapon.
Bellingham, meantime, says (via ESPN) that he aspires to be a “artist” on the field in general but a “𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁er” when the ball is in the box. For the Spanish powerhouse, he has become a game-changer in this regard.
Meanwhile, Szoboszlai is playing further back as number eight, with the strikers taking on the bulk of the scoring responsibilities. He proved his worth in his final season with Leipzig, scoring 10 goals and dishing out 13 assists, but Jürgen Klopp is looking to utilize other players’ s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s.
He didn’t play the role he does for us at Leipzig, the boss noted earlier this season, according to The Mirror. “He played on the wing, as a number 10 more inside, [but Liverpool has used him as] as an eight, a six, a double six as well, so it is really interesting to watch how quickly he adapts and develops.”
Szoboszlai’s second-place finish in terms of shots (behind only Salah) stands out at first glance, but the projected goals and average shooting distances provide vital background information. Despite being one of Liverpool’s forwards, Szoboszlai has the lowest xG average (0.7) and the longest average shooting distance (26.4 yards) among his colleagues. In contrast, Bellingham is just half as distant from the net (13.1 yards).
One player is always capitalizing on big chances, while another is more prone to taking shots from long range (we’ve seen him score two spectacular goals from outside the penalty area). The large disparity in box touches also suggests that Szoboszlai plays a deeper position and participates less in offensive phases.
Since Liverpool abandoned its chase of Bellingham, the Hungarian was the club’s most significant midfield addition of the summer. Liverpool can stop wallowing in the past now that it knows its strategy for Szoboszlai is succeeding.
