Dominik Szoboszlai took the Premier League by storm last autumn. While Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch settled into new surroundings and Alexis Mac Allister had to play in an unfamiliar deep role in midfield, it was the Hungarian who got to show off the most of the players bought last summer.
But as autumn turned to winter and the match schedule got tighter and tighter, the 23-year-old’s performances began to vary more and more. In January he was injured, and after his return in March he has not been able to find his way back to the level from the start of the season.
In an interview with MLSZ TV, he acknowledges that his form has not been as good of late, and suggests that the good start may have led to people having slightly too high expectations of him.
– The good start gave me a boost, but maybe I added the list too high, because there have been matches where I haven’t brought out my best, he says.
The midfielder seems to have realized that there has been some criticism, among other things, on social media.
– When you don’t play well you are the worst player on the pitch in some people’s eyes, but that is no problem. We go through everything as a team.
Tempo difference
The Hungarian, who has a background in the Red Bull clubs Salzburg and Leipzig, says that there is a big difference in the pace in the Premier League compared to the Bundesliga.
– Things go faster here in the Premier League. You don’t have as much time to think as in the Bundesliga.
– Here you have to know what to do before you have received the ball. If you hesitate, you are out of luck. If I’m in midfield and have many players around me, I have to have an overview of where everyone is, he adds.
Szoboszlai, who is going to the EC as captain for Hungary this summer, says he learned a lot as a youngster when he broke through in Austria.
– It’s about not trying anything too ambitious, but playing passes and passing the ball on to teammates who are in better positions, while at the same time being part of the pressure, in attack, in defense and contributing with goals and goal-scoring passes, says Szoboszlai.
In total, he has played 43 games in his debut season for the Reds, and is on the books with seven goals and four assists.
