Szoboszlai’s Homework Pays Off as Liverpool’s Free-Kick Brilliance Silences Marseille

There was something quietly satisfying about the way Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick crept beneath the Marseille wall and into the corner of the net. It was not a thunderbolt. It was not a moment of wild improvisation. It was, instead, the product of observation, preparation, and a player thinking one step ahead.

Liverpool’s 3-0 Champions League victory at the Orange Velodrome will be remembered for its authority and composure, but it was Szoboszlai’s clever opener that set the tone. Speaking afterwards, the midfielder was disarmingly honest about his method.

“Yeah, I did my homework,” he told TNT Sports. “I got told that if no-one is lying down maybe I can have a chance to hit it under the wall and no-one was laying down so I tried it, and it worked out.”

As reported by Sam Williams on Liverpool’s official website, the moment captured something essential about Szoboszlai’s growing influence: intelligence blended with confidence, calculation fused with instinct.

Preparation Behind Szoboszlai’s Marseille Free-Kick

Football still celebrates spontaneity, but modern elite performance is increasingly built on detail. Szoboszlai’s free-kick against Marseille was a perfect illustration of that shift. The wall stood upright. No defender sacrificed themselves by lying behind it. The goalkeeper hesitated. The opening appeared.

Szoboszlai did not hesitate.

Instead of power, he chose precision. Instead of spectacle, he chose certainty. The ball slid beneath the jumping players and into the bottom corner, leaving Geronimo Rulli stranded and the stadium briefly stunned into silence.

Moments like this rarely arrive by accident. They are the outcome of video analysis, coaching conversations, and a player willing to absorb information. It is the quiet work that rarely makes highlight reels, yet increasingly decides matches.

His performance earned him the Carlsberg Player of the Match award, but more importantly, it underlined his growing authority in Liverpool’s midfield. He is no longer simply a gifted technician. He is becoming a decision-maker.

Liverpool Control Marseille Under Slot’s Guidance

Liverpool’s dominance in Marseille was not limited to one free-kick. From the opening minutes, Arne Slot’s side imposed structure and tempo, blending pressing with patience.

The second goal arrived through misfortune for the home side, with Rulli turning the ball into his own net. Cody Gakpo’s late strike completed the scoring. But by then, the contest had already been decided.

Szoboszlai acknowledged the difficulty of the task.

“It’s very good, I’m very happy. It’s really tough, we knew it before, especially with this team, with this coach [Roberto De Zerbi],” he said.

“We know what they are able to do and what he is able to do, we saw it in the Premier League when we played against Brighton [and Hove Albion]. But we knew, we were prepared and we take the three points.”

This was Liverpool operating at a mature rhythm. They absorbed pressure, disrupted Marseille’s build-up, and struck decisively when opportunities emerged. It was control rather than chaos, discipline rather than drama.

Champions League Momentum and Qualification Ambitions

The victory in France pushed Liverpool closer to automatic qualification for the Round of 16. With a home match against Qarabag to follow, qualification now feels like a matter of execution rather than anxiety.

Momentum matters in European football. Liverpool are now 13 games unbeaten in all competitions, a sequence built on consistency rather than flashes of brilliance.

Szoboszlai reflected on that run with measured realism.

“We take the positive stuff, obviously, that we are unbeaten, but also we have to take into account that there are games you have to win when you play for Liverpool,” he said.

“Especially at home, at Anfield, I think we, the fans, everybody deserves to see nice football but for sure the win.”

There is no complacency in those words. Instead, there is an understanding that reputation demands repetition. Success must be renewed every week.

In this sense, the Marseille win felt less like a statement and more like a confirmation: Liverpool are building something stable, adaptable, and resilient under Slot.

Szoboszlai’s Growing Influence in Europe

Szoboszlai’s numbers tell part of the story. Seven goals and five assists across 30 appearances in the 2025–26 season point to consistency. But statistics alone cannot capture his expanding role.

He now operates as a bridge between midfield and attack, between structure and invention. He presses, creates, covers ground, and increasingly dictates moments.

The free-kick was symbolic. It showed awareness, bravery, and clarity. It showed a player confident enough to trust his reading of the game.

“It’s really tough,” he said of the campaign. “But we knew, we were prepared.”

That preparation is becoming his signature.

Liverpool’s midfield has long been defined by intensity and work rate. Szoboszlai is adding something else: foresight. The ability to see possibilities before they appear. The calm to act on them.

As the season advances and the stakes rise, those qualities will become ever more valuable. In Marseille, they produced one clever free-kick. Over time, they may help shape Liverpool’s European ambitions.