Dominik Szoboszlai had the audacity to attempt a panenka penalty in the 99th minute for Hungary when his side were 1-0 down. Still, he duly converted to rescue a point for his side.
The Hungary captain started his second game of the November break on Tuesday evening, with Germany the opposition in a Nations League meeting.
It was a stalemate until the 76th minute when Felix Nmecha opened the scoring for Germany in a heavily rotated side named by Julian Nagelsmann.
Just when the Germans thought they would leave Budapest with all three points, though, a penalty was awarded deep into stoppage time and Szoboszlai stepped up to take the pressure kick.
There was deemed to be a handball and after the referee consulted the pitch-side monitor, Szoboszlai’s moment arrived and, cheekily, he went for a panenka with the final kick of the match:
Hungary [1] – 1 Germany – Dominik Szoboszlai (panenka penalty) 90?+?9?’
byu/HaidarSaad inLiverpoolFC
He was as calm as you like to level the scores in the 99th minute, forcing Germany goalkeeper Alexander Nubel to helplessly watch on as the ball was dinked into the back of the net.
Speaking to Nemzeti Sport after the match, Szoboszlai said: “This week, I practised the panenka against Peti Szappanos, who was also a little nervous that I succeeded against him.
“So far, I have shot nineteen penalty kicks to the right hand of the goalkeepers. I was of the opinion that if the goalkeeper stays in the middle during extra time, he deserves all the praise.”
If Liverpool ever find themselves in a penalty shootout, maybe we will see him attempt it again!
Creative hub for Hungary
Aside from his headline moment, it was a strong overall performance from Liverpool’s No. 8 against Germany.
As per FotMob, Szoboszlai created seven chances (five more than the next best), made eight recoveries (joint-second most), and had four touches in the opposition box (joint-second most).
Although Germany dominated on the ball (71 percent possession), Szoboszlai was the creative hub for his side as Hungary created an xG of 1.82 compared to 1.27xG for the visitors.
@_Szoboszlai pic.twitter.com/YiuoD0P3eg
— Földes Dániel (@officialfoldes) November 19, 2024
Playing in an advanced role, he has the freedom to take on those responsibilities and he finds himself as the designated set-piece taker for Hungary, a distinct difference to his role at Anfield.
He will take confidence from his panenka and Arne Slot will be eager to harness that in the coming weeks as Liverpool face a testing run of fixtures.
