Andy Robertson irked by ‘frustrating’ Szoboszlai error as midfielder apologises to teammates
Andy Robertson revealed that Dominik Szoboszlai apologised to his Liverpool teammates over the error which led to Barnsley’s goal shortly before half-time on Monday night.
The Reds were in firm control at 2-0 up when, in the 40th minute, the midfielder attempted a backheel on the edge of his team’s six-yard box, only to inadvertently gift a goal to Adam Phillips, and it wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that the Premier League side made sure of their eventual 4-1 victory.
The 25-year-old has been heavily criticised over his botched clearance, with Tykes manager Conor Hourihane implying that it was disrespectful towards his side and Steve McManaman accusing the Hungarian of complacency.
Robertson reveals Szoboszlai apology over penalty box error
The ever-frank Robertson insisted that it was an uncharacteristic lapse from Szoboszlai but was unable to hide his irritation at the manner in which the goal was given up to Barnsley.
The Scottish left-back said (via Liverpool Echo): “I think we all said something at the time, but he realised and apologised at half-time. If anyone’s performances can’t get criticised this season, it’s Dom’s. He’s been 100% every game this season and has this lapse of concentration, which isn’t great.
“We can’t really afford that in the so-called bigger games. That’s the most frustrating thing. This season, we’ve let teams in far too many times.”
Robertson added: “Was it a gift for Barnsley? That’s putting it nicely. The frustrating thing is Dom does this unbelievable 60-yard sprint to start with. He’s getting the clap off the Kop and I don’t know if that maybe went to his head!
“We can joke about it now but it’s unacceptable to lose a goal like that. Dom obviously knows that. He’s been magnificent for us this season and he was again really good. He just had a lapse of concentration, and we can’t afford too many of them in the six-yard box.”
A rare lapse in an excellent season from Szoboszlai
While Robertson has rightly defended Szoboszlai’s consistently high performance standards this season, his annoyance at how the goal was conceded will be shared by every Liverpool supporter.
Thankfully it didn’t cost the Reds in the greater scheme of things, given the eventual scoreline, but it certainly gave Barnsley a timely fillip shortly before the interval and went some way to ensuring a nervy second half until the late goals from Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.
The Hungarian has at least owned up to the fault to his teammates, and so long as that error remains in isolation rather than becoming more habitual, there’s no reason to be excessively critical of a player who’s performed so well throughout the course of the campaign.
Liverpool safely navigated a tricky test last night but the final 4-1 scoreline masks how uncomfortable the match had been until the closing stages, and the team’s overall performance wasn’t anything above the level of ‘enough to get the job done’.
The standard will need to improve when we resume Premier League and Champions League action against Burnley and Marseille over the next few days, but a run of 11 games unbeaten allows the Reds to go into those fixtures with confidence – so long as it’s not the kind of over-confidence which gifted Phillips his goal at Anfield.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Barnsley press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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