Szoboszlai both hero and villain as Liverpool overcomes plucky Barnsley in FA Cup

LIVERPOOL, England — Dominik Szoboszlai was both hero and villain for Liverpool, as the home side broke down a spirited Barnsley 4-1 on Monday to set up an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Premier League rival Brighton.

The Hungarian midfielder gave Liverpool the lead after eight minutes, when he silenced the traveling fans with a stunning 30-meter strike.

Jeremie Frimpong made it 2-0 when he cut in from the right and fired home a fierce left-footed shot.

But Szoboszlai offered Barnsley a way back into the game five minutes before halftime with a calamitous mistake that will feature in blooper reels for years to come.

His attempted backheel six meters in front of his own goal was poorly planned and shockingly executed, and the chasing Adam Phillips only had to tap the ball into the empty net to make it 2-1.

"Sorry to the team," Szoboszlai told broadcaster TNT Sports afterward. "I made it hard for us with an easy mistake. Football happens and we move on."

The midfielder was also lucky not to give away a penalty early in the second half, as Barnsley made a mockery of its League One status.

The Yorkshire club took the game to its more storied rival, and, with the match still in the balance, Liverpool manager Arne Slot was forced to call on his big guns, bringing on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Ibrahima Konate after an hour.

Slot was also far from happy with his midfielder, who has been Liverpool's outstanding performer so far in a difficult season for the English champion.

"I don't think you should do that in an FA Cup game, or a League Cup game, or in a friendly game, or in a training session. It was a weird choice," said Slot.

"I also have my opinion about it, but I prefer to keep that to myself and speak about that with Dom."

However, much of the action continued to revolve around Szoboszlai.

He cleared a Phillips shot off the line at one end, before setting up Wirtz moments later only to see him blaze the ball over the bar.

Wirtz made amends six minutes from time when, with the visitor's energy levels dropping, he took an Ekitike pass and curled a lovely shot into the far corner.

Ekitike made it 4-1 in stoppage time when he tapped home a Wirtz cross.

It was an unfortunate end for a visiting team that acquitted itself admirably against a team 57 places above it in the league pyramid.

"I thought we were outstanding," Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane said. "We got a bit tired at the end but we started so well. They brought on top player after top player.

"I wanted the lads to put in a performance that they could come away from and be immensely proud of, and they can certainly do that."

Although the scoreline flattered the home side, the result was Liverpool's 11th straight game without defeat and a sign of its ability to grind out results.

Liverpool has not lost since its defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in November.

"We scored nice goals, but I think for too long the game was tight," added Slot. "Two-nil up, then giving a goal away like that made it difficult until 10 minutes before the end."

Brighton visits Anfield on the weekend of Feb 14.

Agencies