It was classic Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool bathed in the ineffable beauty of football's finest moments when resurrecting their attacking verve in the late stage of their Anfield encounter against Fulham on Sunday afternoon, turning the game on its head in the closing moments.

The 4-3 scoreline was probably apt, with Liverpool scoring some of the sumptuous strikes in the Premier League this season; that being said, the hosts' glaring defensive discrepancies were on full show, muddying the advance to second place after Manchester City's 3-3 draw to Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool star who lost possession 18x almost cost them alongside Kelleher

The attacker produced a disappointing performance against Fulham on Sunday.

ByDan Emery Dec 3, 2023

Frankly, Liverpool haven't been at their best for several weeks now but keep on churning out results, underscoring the never-say-die mentality that has restored the title challenge after a testing 2022/23 campaign.

The midfield summer signings have been spectacular, and while Dominik Szoboszlai has started every Premier League match since his £60m arrival from RB Leipzig, he has possibly plateaued of late.

Dominik Szoboszlai's performance vs Fulham

Szoboszlai has been a mainstay for Liverpool this term, scoring two goals and assists apiece from 19 appearances; in the English top-flight, he has been a whirlwind of creativity and composure, completing 88% of his passes and averaging 2.1 key passes and 6.9 ball recoveries per game.

But, might it be fair to say that the imperious swagger on display at the start of the campaign has lost a bit of its fizz? Of course, the Hungary captain has now settled into the system and charges the club's exploits in the engine room, but against Fulham, he suffered one of his more ineffective games.

Of course, that's not to say that he was objectively poor, winning 3/4 ground duels, completing 85% of his passes and making one key pass, as per Sofascore – also stinging Bernd Leno's palms with two rasping strikes.

But he was hooked just after the hour mark with the affair poised at 2-2, replaced by midweek hero Cody Gakpo as Klopp sought to maintain the chase on table-topping Arsenal.

Writing in his post-match ratings, GOAL's Peter McVitie branded the 23-year-old with a 5/10 score, writing: 'Another quiet performance from the summer signing, he didn't play with the same imagination and effectiveness as we saw earlier in the season.'

With a clash against Sheffield United forthcoming on Wednesday night, perhaps the Reds should think about dropping their "magician" – as he has been called by talent scout Jacek Kulig – who is destined for stardom but could benefit from a reset, especially with Harvey Elliott waiting in the wings…

Harvey Elliott's season so far

In contrast to Szoboszlai, Elliott has featured prominently across cup competitions this season but has only started once in the Premier League.

Despite this, the 20-year-old has impressed and is among the finest youngsters that English football has to offer, having now amassed 86 showings for the Merseyside outfit, posting six goals and assists apiece.

Having now entered December, Elliott deserves the opportunity to strut his stuff in the league, especially when considering that he ranks among the top 10% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 9% for progressive passes, the top 4% for progressive carries and the top 21% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.

The stats-led site has coincidentally highlighted Szoboszlai as a comparable player to the "special" talent, as dubbed by Jamie Carragher, which only strengthens the argument that he deserves a shot.

With Sheffield United in disarray; bottom of the Premier League and having just sacked manager Paul Heckingbottom, Klopp will expect his free-scoring squad to heap further misery on the bottom club.

With a relentless period of football awaiting, it might be prudent to rotate Szoboszlai for Elliott, providing the dynamic Redman with the chance to prove himself.