Liverpool supporters have been left split in opinion following a surprise tactical decision by Arne Slot during a behind-closed-doors pre-season match.
The Premier League titleholders began their pre-season with a 4-0 win over Preston, followed by a private fixture against Stoke City at the AXA Training Centre, which they won 5-0. Darwin Nunez netted a hat-trick, while Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa also found the scoresheet.
Some details from the secretive match surfaced, including the starting lineup — leaked by journalist Ben Pescod — which revealed new signing Florian Wirtz was handed a start. The absence of Luis Diaz led to speculation he could be on his way out of the club.
However, the biggest surprise came with Dominik Szoboszlai being deployed in an unfamiliar role. According to Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo, the Hungarian midfielder started at right-back, despite regular options Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong being available on the bench.
Szoboszlai, who was integral in midfield during Liverpool’s title-winning campaign, played in the backline while Wirtz operated as a No.10, supported by Curtis Jones and Trey Nyoni. Fans were divided over the experiment — some praised his versatility, comparing him to Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, while others were skeptical about the switch.
Reactions online included:
“Can imagine he’d be quite a good right back.”
“Big fan of just getting as many of your favourite lads on the pitch — like me on Footy Manager.”
“Most versatile player I’ve seen in a long time. Think I’ve seen him play everything but CB/GK.”
“Hell no, he must play DM.”
This isn’t Szoboszlai’s first outing at right-back — he previously featured there for RB Leipzig in a DFB Pokal match, providing two assists and earning the nickname “Dani Alves” from teammate Benjamin Henrichs.
Liverpool now gear up for their tour of the Far East, where they’ll face AC Milan in Hong Kong and Yokohama FM in Japan. Their pre-season continues with back-to-back fixtures against Athletic Club before clashing with Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley on August 10.
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