For Liverpool, it would have been doubly painful to see Jude Bellingham make it three goals in as many Champions League games as Real Madrid beat Braga 2-1 on Tuesday night. On one level, Liverpool has been reduced to a watching berth for a competition it has won six times, having been forced to settle for Europa League football after finishing fifth last season. On another, Bellingham was for so long the club's primary target, so each and every goal conjures thoughts of what might have been.
The good news for the Reds is that Dominik Szoboszlai, a $74m (£61m/€70m) summer addition from RB Leipzig, has certainly eased the anguish. Szoboszlai has been a revelation thus far, winning the club's Player of the Month award for August and finishing second in the September voting behind Mohamed Salah (via Liverpool's official website).
Both Bellingham and Szoboszlai have been spectacular since they joined their respective clubs, but they've been spectacular in different ways. The table below captures the contrast between their two roles (we've focused on club ranks rather than per-90 numbers because Liverpool's attacking numbers have been distorted by four red cards in the space of nine matches, and the ranks point to their responsibilities within each team).
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Bellingham has been playing as a number 10 for Los Blancos, behind a combination of Joselu, Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo and in front of other midfielders like Federico Valverde, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga. Carlo Ancelotti heavily hinted in pre-season that his newest Galáctico would be used as a goalscoring weapon, telling the press that 'his ability to get into the area is something we can make the most of this season' (via 90Min).
Bellingham, for his part, says he wants to be an 'artist' for the most part, but a 'killer' when the ball is in the box (via ESPN). That makes him a match-winner for the Spanish giant.
Szoboszlai, meanwhile, has been stationed further back as a number eight, leaving most of the scoring duties to the forwards. He showed at Leipzig, where he scored 10 goals and provided 13 assists in his final season, that he can contribute heavily, but Jürgen Klopp wants to tap into different strengths.
"I don’t think he played the position he plays for us at Leipzig," the manager said earlier this season (via The Mirror). "He played on the wing, as a number 10 more inside, [but Liverpool has used him as] as an eight, a six, a double six as well, so it is really interesting to watch how quickly he adapts and develops."
How Jude Bellingham's club ranks at Real Madrid compare to Dominik Szoboszlai at Liverpool
Metric | Bellingham | Szoboszlai |
Goals | 1st | 6th |
Expected goals | 2nd | 6th |
Shots | 3rd | 2nd |
Average shooting distance | 1st | 16th |
Touches in the box | 2nd | 6th |
One thing that jumps out here is that Szoboszlai places as high second for total attempts (behind Salah), but the expected goals and average shooting distances offer some important context here. Szoboszlai has only amassed 0.7 xG, ranking him behind all five of Liverpool's forwards, and, on average, he shoots from a greater distance than any of his teammates at 26.4 yards. Bellingham, by contrast, is only half as far away from goal (13.1 yards).
In summary, then, one player tends to be trying his luck from range (we've already seen him score two magnificent goals from outside the penalty area), while another is consistently on the end of big opportunities. The significant gap for touches in the box also points to Szoboszlai's deeper position, and lower involvement, in offensive phases.
As such, while the Hungarian was Liverpool's biggest midfield signing of the summer after it ditched its pursuit of Bellingham, the two players shouldn't really be compared. Liverpool's plan for Szoboszlai is clearly working, and that means it can look to the future without ruing the past.