Dominik Szoboszlai's Thunderbolt Performance Against Tottenham

Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t just answer his critics on Tuesday night. He silenced them with a thunderbolt.

Under the Anfield lights in the Carabao Cup, the Hungarian drove Liverpool past Tottenham with a performance that carried both defiance and class, capped by a stunning long-range strike in a 3-1 win that felt like a personal rebuttal as much as a cup tie.

This came after a week in which his name had been dragged through the post-match debates. A flat display in the 0-0 draw with Fulham, where he won just one of his 10 duels, had prompted questions about his form, his role, even his suitability to the new system.

Szoboszlai’s response was blunt.

“Was there a criticism? I don't know, I didn't see but thanks for telling me,” he said. “You know this goal [against Spurs] was for the people who are always next to me because we are also humans so we can have bad games.”

At the heart of Iraola’s overhaul

Andoni Iraola’s arrival has ripped up the old script at Anfield. One holding midfielder, one No. 8, one No. 10. Constant rotation. Constant movement. The system demands brains as much as legs, and Szoboszlai has been thrown right into the middle of it.

He has become the shape-shifter in a fluid midfield that asks him to press, create, and cover space in equal measure. That Fulham game exposed the difficulty of the brief. It also ignited the argument: is he being used properly?

Szoboszlai sees it differently.

“I think you guys see a little bit different because we play with one 6, one 8 and one 10 so the 6 and the 8 are not next to each other, the 8 is a little bit higher and the 6 is a little bit deeper and the 10 is a little bit even higher so it is not two next to each other,” he explained.

He reeled off the roles he has already been asked to play.

“Last week against Fulham I was a No. 8, I have been No. 2 as well, I have been No. 6, No. 8, No. 10, No. 7 also.”

It’s a snapshot of his life under Iraola: a 23-year-old trusted to interpret a complex system on the fly, moved around to plug gaps as injuries and tweaks force constant change.

Labels don’t bother him

Supporters and pundits can’t quite agree where he’s best. High up as a No. 10, driving at defences? Deeper as a creative No. 8, dictating tempo? Even as a No. 6 in a pinch?

Szoboszlai isn’t losing sleep over the debate.

“No, I just want to be on the pitch,” he said. “Maybe I am not at the best in the 6 position because I win one of the 10 duels, maybe next the game I am going to win eight out of 10, so I am then a good 6? So it's always balance.”

That line says plenty about his mentality. The numbers from Fulham stung, but they didn’t shake him. He knows one bad afternoon doesn’t define a season, especially in a role that demands risk and responsibility.

For Iraola, that versatility is gold. For Szoboszlai, it’s simply the job.

Reaction over reputation

The win against Spurs has booked a heavyweight fourth-round tie with Chelsea, but Liverpool don’t have time to bask in it. Bournemouth await in the Premier League on Sunday, and with that strike still fresh in everyone’s mind, the expectation on Szoboszlai spikes again.

He understands exactly what that means at a club of Liverpool’s size: the judgment never stops. The only thing a player can control is the response.

“There will be games where we are not playing at our best as a team, as personally me or somebody else,” he said. “But trust me it is always leave the past and then the next one, the next one, the reaction is what matters.”

One bad game. One blistering answer. With Bournemouth next and Chelsea looming in the cup, the question now is simple: how often can Szoboszlai make that reaction the rule, not the exception?