29 August 2023 , 06:00
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What must Wataru Endo think he's wandered into?
Before the Japanese international signed for Liverpool earlier this month, the Reds had picked up just nine red cards in Jurgen Klopp's near-eight years as manager. They have also consistently been at the top of the Fair Play table and were never used to having to play with 10 men for any sort of significant stretch of time.
Yet of the 85 minutes Endo has played for Liverpool across two matches thus far, 57 of them were played with only nine other outfield players on the pitch.
In such scenarios it is vital for players to become multi-functional, often playing in two positions at a time as the absence of an extra player is catered for, and while Liverpool do have a lot of those players - players who can not only do several jobs, but do them and win as they did against both Bournemouth and Newcastle - they have one in particular who is standing out.
Dominik Szoboszlai was good on his debut at Chelsea, he shone on his home bow against Bournemouth and then at Newcastle he stood up tall - and his height is one of the most impressive things about him when you see him in the flesh - and delivered a disciplined performance when his side needed it most.
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As against Bournemouth when Alexis Mac Allister had been sent off, Szoboszlai would end the game in a deep-lying midfield role, something that he absolutely was not bought for but something that he can clearly do based on his obvious abilities.
Indeed, after Endo it is probably the Hungarian who has suffered the most as a result of Liverpool's rash of reds at the start of the campaign, as they have quelled his obvious abilities in attack. Szoboszlai, like the impressive substitute Harvey Elliott, had to hold a position in the centre of midfield after the shattered Endo left the pitch on Tyneside, and he did it brilliantly.
Szoboszlai was superb again in the win over Newcastle (AFP via Getty Images)With midfield the hot topic among Reds fans debating the findings and failings of Liverpool in the transfer market this summer, the arrival of Szoboszlai in early July was met as something of a surprise.
His was a name which had been tentatively linked with Liverpool earlier in the window, but indeed it was Sunday's opponents Newcastle who had appeared to be leading the race to sign him from RB Leipzig.
Szoboszlai would eventually make it clear that, despite Champions League football on offer in the north east this season, it was Liverpool that he wanted to go to, and the Magpies' loss has very much been the Reds' gain.
The 22-year-old has been a fine addition to the Liverpool midfield (AFP via Getty Images)It is of course a very small sample size, and we could do with seeing Liverpool keep 11 men on the pitch more often to provide a more accurate assessment, but the 22-year-old has probably been his side's player of the season so far, with that tender age just another thing to be impressed with.
Composed and powerful on the ball, it is his physicality which often impresses. Against Newcastle he was both fouled three times and committed three fouls himself, showing that he always likes to insert himself into the action, but he's also durable with it too. He's played the full 90 minutes of all three of Liverpool's games this season, something which only Andy Robertson can also say among the outfield players.
Where next for Szoboszlai? Well another start at home to Aston Villa on Sunday looks certain, with a second home appearance hopefully one that Liverpool can keep 11 men on the pitch for.
Because if they do that, then their new No.8 will continue to show just how he's become a very important player very quickly.
This is a rapidly evolving Liverpool side, and more changes would seem to be on the very near horizon, but in Szoboszlai they've got someone who looks at home already, and is going to be central in whatever comes next.
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