Liverpool have had their fair share of special European nights over the years, with the famous comeback win against Barcelona back in 2019 in the Champions League – which saw the Reds overturn a 4-0 deficit – still sticking out as the Premier League giants at their thrilling best.
The entertainment levels weren’t through the roof in a similar fashion mid-week when Arne Slot’s men got the better of Barca’s arch rivals Real Madrid by a single goal, but the impressive all-round display would have definitely pleased the Anfield masses watching on.
Indeed, away from Alexis Mac Allister grabbing the winner, faces such as Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah also stood out, when they have otherwise failed to get going this season, with the heavily scapegoated German covering a staggering 11.37km in total.
To make the win even sweeter on Europe’s grandest stage, Liverpool managed to get one over on ex-star Trent Alexander-Arnold, who would only come on for the final few exchanges for Los Blancos.
Yet, despite a chorus of boos greeting his every touch, it’s clear – when analysing Liverpool’s wobbles this season – that they have desperately missed the creativity of their former homegrown product from the right-back spot.
Why Liverpool have missed Alexander-Arnold
Of course, all of the animosity directed towards the former number 66 comes from a place of pain that he deserted his hometown club for a shot in La Liga.
Being able to replace the creativity Alexander-Arnold possessed in spades at Anfield instantly was also going to be an extremely tough ask, with his ability to burst forward and cut open a defence for Liverpool, dubbing him a “dream for strikers” by Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Alexander-Arnold would become a modern-day icon at Liverpool, with a mighty 23 goals and 92 assists falling into his lap on Merseyside.
Liverpool had their work cut out for them in the summer to try and find an attacking full-back of the same calibre as the Englishman; therefore, with the Anfield giants presumably thinking they’d hit the jackpot with the capture of Milos Kerkez.
Unfortunately, the former AFC Bournemouth star – who amassed five Premier League assists last season – has no assists next to his name for Liverpool in league action, leading to him being branded as “out of his depth” by journalist Tim Spiers.
Thankfully, Conor Bradley showed the Liverpool masses why he could be in with a shout to be a long-term fix for Trent deserting the building.
He was phenomenal against the Spanish giants, dealing with the effervescent Vinicius Junior with an energetic display, seeing him win eight duels against Xabi Alonso’s visitors.
But, there was another standout performer on Wednesday night, who could be a surprise shout to be Slot’s next Trent-style figure.
Liverpool's new Trent is in midfield
Liverpool haven’t just experienced a crisis in the full-back areas this season, with the aforementioned Mac Allister struggling in the midfield areas in patches this campaign, too.
He does look to have exited his slump now, with the winning goal against the visitors from Madrid. Dominik Szoboszlai, on the other hand, has only gone from strength to strength this season, even as meltdowns have occurred around him.
The Hungarian would live up to his reputation for being a dead-ball specialist – which saw him hammer home a glorious free-kick against Arsenal earlier this season – against Alexander-Arnold’s new employers, with Mac Allister ultimately thankful for the 25-year-old’s incisive eye for an assist.
The two-time Premier League title winner would, time after time, also come up trumps when taking his very own corner kicks and corners at Anfield, with Szoboszlai now taking on this role expertly, as seen in him already picking up three Champions League assists for the campaign.
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
1
Touches
54
Shots
5
Accurate passes
30/39 (77%)
Key passes
3
Accurate crosses
3/3
Ball recoveries
6
Back in the bread and butter of the Premier League, Szoboszlai is in a league of his own in terms of progressive carries and crosses attempted.
Two standout characteristics of Alexander-Arnold’s expansive game in England, the Hungarian has registered 26 carries and 25 crosses already in 2025/26. That’s more than any midfielder in England’s top-flight this season.
Slot has even chucked the “unbelievable” number 8 – as he has glowingly labelled him – into the right-back spot on occasion this season, with their similarities almost becoming eerie at this point.
However, as was evidenced on Wednesday night, the 25-year-old can still be an influential figure – like the number 66 – from a number ten position.
More wins will no doubt be collected this season, off the back of Szoboszlai’s “genius” alone, as his former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp also labelled him.