Anfield Angst: Liverpool Stumble, Szoboszlai Under the Microscope After Burnley Stalemate

Anfield had that restless hum again. Liverpool, chasing sure footing in a muddled campaign, were held 1-1 by Burnley and it felt like two points tossed away rather than one gained. The mood music turned on Dominik Szoboszlai, who endured a grim afternoon capped by a missed spot-kick, and the debate now shifts from frustration to solutions for Arne Slot.

The match in brief

Liverpool drew first blood through Florian Wirtz in the opening period, a neat finish that should have set the tone. But when Szoboszlai stepped up from 12 yards on 32 minutes with Mohamed Salah away at AFCON duty, his effort cannoned off the bar and flew beyond any chance of a follow-up. The miss left the door ajar and Burnley—Scott Parker’s organised, stubborn outfit—kicked it in on 65 minutes as Marcus Edwards levelled after Liverpool’s back line nodded off at the wrong moment.

The table tells its own tale: fourth on 36 points, just one ahead of Manchester United after their derby win, and a missed chance to put heat on third-placed Aston Villa. At Anfield, that’s the sort of afternoon that lingers.

The Szoboszlai conundrum

Szoboszlai was shoehorned into a two-man pivot alongside Ryan Gravenberch with Alexis Mac Allister watching on. It didn’t suit him. The Hungarian is usually a bundle of energy and imagination, but here he looked short of snap and certainty. The numbers flatter—123 touches, seven in Burnley’s box—but the incision wasn’t there.

On this evidence, Slot should pull Szoboszlai out of the firing line for a breather and reset. Give him a week or two to recharge, then bring him on to change games rather than carry them from the off. With Salah due back to shoulder the attacking burden and Mac Allister ready-made for the pivot, there’s a cleaner balance staring Liverpool in the face.

Structure, recruitment and the balance problem

For all the summer outlay—north of £400m on fresh legs and shiny ideas—the machine still sputters. Hugo Ekitike buzzed around but never quite knitted the attack together, while the back four’s lapse for Edwards’ equaliser summed up a side that loses concentration at key beats. It’s not just form; it’s fit. The pieces are good, but too often they’re in the wrong places.

Social media did what social media does—hard lines and hotter takes—casting Szoboszlai as a passenger and pining for the game-changing class seen from the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Kevin De Bruyne and Jude Bellingham. Harsh? Maybe. But Liverpool invited the scrutiny with a performance that felt cautious and cluttered rather than cold-blooded.

What Slot should do next

First, restore Mac Allister to start and let the midfield breathe. Second, simplify Szoboszlai’s remit—use him higher or use him later. Third, tune the defensive organisation; the lapse for 1-1 was avoidable, and that’s on coaching detail as much as personnel. Against a Burnley side still feeling its way after promotion under Parker, Liverpool shouldn’t be living this close to the edge at home.

For the punters among you eyeing the trends, check the form lines as carefully as you check the best betting sites. Liverpool remain in the top-four mix, but performances like this are the reason it feels precarious rather than inevitable.

Verdict

It wasn’t catastrophic, but it was costly. Wirtz took his goal well, Anfield expected the second, and then everything drifted. Szoboszlai will be fine—class doesn’t vanish—but he needs a reset and Slot needs a rethink. Do those two things and the top-four chase looks a lot more straightforward; ignore them and the grumbles will only grow louder on Merseyside.