Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Barnsley head coach Conor Hourihane says Dominik Szoboszlai was ‘disrespectful’ to his team after the Liverpool midfielder made a bizarre and freak mistake which earned the League One side a goal.
Around half-time of Liverpool’s 4-1 victory, which took them to the fourth round of the FA Cup, Szoboszlai dropped back to stop a Barnsley attack, then attempted a shot from just three yards out under pressure.
That allowed Adam Phillips to score against his former club, after coming through Liverpool’s academy, as Barnsley pulled one goal back to make it 2-1.
“I’m a little disappointed with their player, if I’m honest,” Hourihane said in his post-match press conference. “I thought it was a little disrespectful.
“I don’t think he would do that against Chelsea, or against Arsenal in a Champions League match. A bit of sensation and incredible buzz for Adam obviously, but a bit of disrespect from their player to be honest.”
When asked what he thought of Szoboszlai’s decision, Liverpool boss Arne Slot responded to Hourihane’s comments by saying: “I don’t think you should do that in a Premier League match, a League Cup match, a friendly match or a training session.
“It’s a weird choice and I have my opinion on it too but I’d rather keep it to myself and talk about it with Dom.”
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Szoboszlai admitted to apologizing to his teammates for the mistake. “Sorry again for the team. I made it difficult for us with an easy mistake, I would say.
Adam Phillips pulls one back for Barnsley after Dominik Szoboszlai’s error
“But football moves forward and we will move on to the next round.”
Slot later said in his press conference: “It’s not the first time – and I’m speaking generally – that we are 2-0 up, there is no problem in the game, and then we concede a sloppy or easy goal. This one definitely stands out, even for us.
“Normally when you’re up 2-0 the other team is about to accept defeat, especially if you can keep going and have the ball that much, then usually teams are probably not as aggressive and then you can score the third and the fourth.
“But if you give away an easy goal, like we’ve done so many times this season, it’s a big difference in mindset for the other team.
“It certainly doesn’t help us. Even tonight we could see that a lot of things were the same that we’ve seen so many times this season.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was unimpressed with Dominik Szoboszlai’s back heel error which led to Barnsley’s goal in their FA Cup third round clash.
“It’s not the only frustration I have, but we definitely make it harder on ourselves in times like this. Not just for ourselves, but again, there were 60,000 fans out there tonight supporting us.
“I would have loved it and the players would have loved it not to give them 2-1 until the 83rd minute before the score was 3-1. It happened and it’s something I would like to see differently.”
Should Barnsley also have had a penalty?
Barnsley denied huge penalty at Anfield
Szoboszlai was also involved in a big penalty in the second half when he almost conceded a penalty to make it 2-2.
Barnsley winger Reyes Clearly, who impressed on the left wing all night, ran through Liverpool’s midfield and then fell under the Hungarian’s tackle.
Replays showed Szoboszlai had touched the ball, but there was also a hand on the Barnsley winger’s back. Referee Farai Hallam dismissed the complaints, with no VAR until the fifth round of the competition.
“I thought at the time it was a penalty,” Hourihane said. “Thinking about it now, after the match the player touches the ball a bit.
“But at the same time, we see that it [Szoboszlai] went into this panic mode, Reyes got through it by pulling on his shirt a little.
“It was easily a decision that could have suited us, a great moment of the match. 2-1 around the 65th minute, you never know what can happen afterwards. It was an important decision that didn’t go for us.”
Reacting to the incident, Slot felt it was not a penalty – especially as two big kicks went against Liverpool against Arsenal on Thursday night.
“There is no VAR so when he gives it, if he had made a mistake there was no possibility of correcting it,” Slot explained. “From what I’ve been told it wasn’t a penalty and Dominik played the ball, but I have to watch it again to give you my opinion.
“On Thursday night I saw two things in the Arsenal box that were more of a penalty than this when I just looked at them without seeing them on video.
“I can live without getting one against Arsenal, although this season we have conceded penalties even after VAR interventions which have been inferior to the two incidents at Arsenal. I can live with the result at Arsenal and today.”
