Dominik Szoboszlai posted a series of comments on his latest Instagram post, including one that read: “My brother is tired after carrying us all season.” The Liverpool midfielder came under fire in the defeat against Aston Villa, after making a disappointing mistake that gave the home team a 2-1 lead just as the Reds were gaining momentum. Arne Slott’s side equalized five minutes from time when Szoboszlai’s shot was headed in by Virgil van Dijk, before Rio Ngmoha hit the post with a superb shot. However, a mistake by the Hungarian allowed Ollie Watkins to put the Villains back in front.
Despite Szoboszlai assisting captain Van Dijk for his second goal in stoppage time, Villa ultimately won 4-2. The result means Liverpool have limped over the line this season in the Premier League, failing to win their last three games. The defending English champions have lost 19 games in all competitions, 12 of which have been in the league. Their disastrous trophy-less campaign ends next Sunday against Brentford. However, less than 24 hours after the defeat against Villa, Szoboszlai was linked up with MacDonald for the promotion post, but the results were not good.
Liverpool fans flooded with comments saying the post, which included an image of the player smiling and eating fast food, was ill-timed and did not take into account the club’s current situation. However, the 25-year-old has since made his feelings on those comments clear by liking a series of other messages in support of him.
Szoboszlai has achieved a personal best of 13 goals and 12 assists in 52 appearances at Anfield, making him the favorite to be named the club’s player of the season. And a Hungarian captain liked a post that read, “My brother is already tired after carrying us all season.”
He also liked comments such as “He had two assists last night. He carried Liverpool on his shoulders”, “The best of the best! He really is a shining light in a dark cloud” and “My brother made one mistake all season and all the kids were laughing at him, why? He carried Liverpool on his shoulders this season.”
Another longer comment read, “To all of you who are grieving over this post: Yes, the timing isn’t great, but I can guarantee you that Dom didn’t post this. This guy has led us this season and we want him to stay. Let him eat his Big Mac in peace.” Szoboszlai also liked this.
It was a controversial day on social media for Liverpool’s players on Saturday, when Mohamed Salah posted a lengthy statement containing an explicit tirade against the underdog slot. The Dutch manager and the Egyptian legend had a falling out this season, with Salah asking Liverpool to shorten his contract by 12 months.
And he said: “It was very painful for us to suffer another defeat this season and it was not something our fans deserved. I want to see Liverpool get back to being the heavy metal attacking team that our opponents fear and being a team that wins trophies.”
“That’s the football I know how to play and the identity that we have to recover and hold forever. It’s non-negotiable and everyone who joins this club has to adapt to it. Winning a game here and there is not how Liverpool should be. Every team wins a game.”
The post was liked by most of Szoboszlai’s Liverpool teammates. Injured Ugo Ekitike commented with a handshake emoji, while Curtis Jones added an applause emoji. “Thank you for your continued support during a disappointing season, which has fallen far short of the standards expected of this football club,” Jones wrote in his own statement.
Reacting to Salah’s message, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said on TNT Sport: “I think he’s sending a message to the outside world that the situation in the Liverpool dressing room is not right, that there’s been a loss of identity and it’s really hurtful to see that in front of your eyes.”
“It’s pretty bad for the Liverpool manager and his staff, given the current state of this team. Collapse is a strong word. Last night’s performance was terrible, terrible, painful to watch from start to finish. It was painful to watch Liverpool last night. They were far from good enough.”
