Gerrard warns Szoboszlai: Ego the enemy of greatness

Steven Gerrard has delivered a pointed message to Dominik Szoboszlai: keep the ego in check if you want to reach the elite tier of midfielders.

The Liverpool icon, speaking on TNT Sports, acknowledged the Hungarian's undoubted quality but insisted that recent moments of poor judgment could prove costly to his development. Szoboszlai has drawn unwanted attention over the past fortnight—most notably an ill-advised attempted back-heel in his own box that handed Barnsley a goal in the FA Cup, followed by a wayward penalty miss during Saturday's Premier League stalemate with Burnley.

Yet Gerrard's warning came amid Liverpool's commanding 3-0 demolition of Marseille on Wednesday, where Szoboszlai himself struck a magnificent free-kick to set the Reds on their way. Geronimo Rulli's own goal and Cody Gakpo's late finish completed the rout, propelling Liverpool to fourth in the Champions League table.

"If he stays humble and keeps working at his game in the right way, he can get to another level," Gerrard explained. "There's a world-class level there for him. I think he's shown in certain games this season that he's capable of that, and this is the most consistent I've seen him."

The former Anfield great stressed that Szoboszlai possesses the talent, the support structure, and the hunger required to climb higher still—provided he maintains perspective. "You just got to stay a little bit humble, because the last couple of weeks, there's been a little bit of ego creeping in with the back heel six yards out and smashing the penalty," Gerrard said. "It will be a shame if he doesn't go and push himself to the next level. I think it's there for him."

He added: "He needs to keep wanting to develop and grow and improve, because you never stop at whatever age, you can always get better. I love watching him, full of energy, great out of possession."

Liverpool's victory in France leaves their Champions League progression firmly in their hands heading into next week's final group encounter against Qarabag, which will secure direct passage to the knockout stages.

Manager Arne Slot was pleased with the manner of the performance, emphasizing his side's control and clinical finishing. "It could have been a tricky place to go and it is because of their fans but also because of their players and manager," Slot reflected. "We had to be very good today and we were. We were very positive on the ball. We scored three and everyone will be more positive than when we create five chances but score one."

The Liverpool boss also highlighted the importance of avoiding a two-legged play-off tie, particularly given his squad's injury woes. "People can see what a squad we have. We have three players out with injuries and we already don't have the size of squad that our competitors have, so it's important we don't play these games," he said.

Slot went on to explain the reasoning behind his side's patchy domestic form this season, pointing to the fundamental difference between open play and low-block situations. "I know why we're not consistent and that is mainly to do when a game is open, it is completely different than playing against a low block," he noted. "You cannot compare that with the game tonight when both teams want to press and play out from the back. If we're inconsistent, it's because we struggle with low blocks."

The Reds' unbeaten streak now stretches to 13 matches, during which they have been behind for just 54 minutes. Slot suggested that tonight's showing represented a more typical reflection of his team's true level. "In the last 13 games unbeaten, we've only been 54 minutes behind. We had many earlier chances to win it today. Today, we probably deserve what we got. We weren't unlucky like we've been so many times this season."