Erling Haaland had a tongue-in-cheek message for Szoboszlai after standout first-half moment

Erling Haaland took to social media with a message for Dominik Szoboszlai after the Liverpool midfielder’s show-stopping goal in the FA Cup win over Barnsley on Monday night.

The Hungary international opened the scoring inside nine minutes at Anfield as he let fly with a 30-yard screamer which gave Tykes goalkeeper Murphy Cooper no chance of making the save.

The 25-year-old later blotted his copybook with an ill-judged backheel attempt on the edge of the Reds’ six-yard box as he inadvertently teed up a simple finish for Adam Phillips, much to the annoyance of both coaches for differing reasons.

Haaland had a message for Szoboszlai last night

Haaland – who surprisingly didn’t score any of Manchester City’s 10 goals against Exeter on Saturday – was keeping an eye on his former Red Bull Salzburg teammate last night, as evidenced by the Norwegian’s Snapchat story.

He uploaded a clip of the Liverpool midfielder’s stunning strike and, upon noticing the muted reaction from our number 8, added the caption: ‘Domi, what a goal. Smile a bit.’

Szoboszlai had a mixed night in Liverpool’s victory

Whilst the message from Haaland was distinctly tongue-in-cheek, the lack of celebration from the Hungarian was immediately noticeable and perhaps a little surprising.

Granted, it wasn’t exactly a last-minute winner to justify jumping into the stands to celebrate with the fans, but it was a scintillating finish from the 25-year-old, and it helped to easy any early nerves there may have been around Anfield, especially given the strong start that Barnsley had made.

Szoboszlai will have been bitterly disappointed with his uncharacteristic error in judgement over Phillips’ goal, and Arne Slot is bound to have some strong words with him in private, but the best thing the midfielder can do is learn from it and move on, with Liverpool playing five more matches this month after four already.

He and Haaland will face one another again in early February when Man City visit Anfield, and while it won’t be a potential title decider like in previous seasons, it still represents an opportunity for the Reds to make a serious statement as they seek to strengthen their position inside the top four.

If we’re to exact revenge on Pep Guardiola’s side for the 3-0 mauling at the Etihad Stadium in November, we’ll need Szoboszlai to play a massive part, just as he did when we won 2-0 at the Manchester venue last year.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Barnsley press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:

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