Dominik Szoboszlai responded to criticism regarding Liverpool players' pre-match keepy-uppy at Old Trafford before their 3-2 loss to Manchester United. The activity drew negative comments from pundits, including Don Hutchison.
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Dominik Szoboszlai hits back at criticism of one thing Liverpool players did at Old Trafford
Dominik Szoboszlai has hit back over criticism of one thing he and a few of his Liverpool teammates were doing prior to the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United last weekend.
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Footage emerged of the Hungarian â along with Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong â indulging in some keepy-uppy in the tunnel at Old Trafford before the match kicked off, with Don Hutchison among those who were critical of that pre-game activity.
However, the Redsâ number 8 refuted suggestions that the kickabout was disrespectful towards their opponents and that the players werenât focused on the job in hand.
Dominik Szoboszlai defended himself and his teammates against criticism for their keepy-uppy activity before the match.
The players involved were Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz, and Jeremie Frimpong.
Liverpool lost the match 3-2 to Manchester United.
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In an interview with the Daily Mail, Szoboszlai explained why he felt there was nothing wrong with what the Liverpool players did before the game.
He said:Â âThe thing that people donât know is that we used to do this before every game throughout the whole of last season, and through this season. We did it every game, and we just donât want to change it.
âItâs not that we disrespect someone. We just want to get into football. We just want to be with each other. I think it is better to play one-touch and warm-up with a football than sit in the changing room, be on your own, and just donât talk to each other.
âIt was an hour before the game. Trust me, 10 minutes before the game starts, everybodyâs ready. It doesnât matter if we played one-touch or we didnât.â
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Szoboszlai makes a very fair point â if itâs been a common ritual over the past two years, then nobody was complaining about it last year when Liverpool roared to the Premier League title.
Even amid this disappointing campaign, had the Reds won at Old Trafford last Sunday, not a word wouldâve been said about the keepy-uppy in the tunnel before the game, and it definitely wasnât the reason why we lost to Man United.
Rather, as Roy Keane pointed out, the result owed to a dreadful first-half performance in which Arne Slotâs team paid the price for an atrocious start which saw them fall 2-0 behind inside 15 minutes, with a discernible lack of intensity to their play, and in particular to their defending.
In recent days, Mo Salah spoke of his âconcernsâ about the mentality of the Liverpool squad, with the Egyptian having played in two separate LFC teams which won the Premier League.
The best way that Szoboszlai and his teammates can dispel the sort of criticism to which theyâve been subjected this week is, quite simply, to win matches â starting with the visit of Chelsea to Anfield this afternoon.