Dominik Szoboszlai called for unity from the Anfield crowd after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Spurs, admitting the atmosphere can shift late in games when frustration sets in.
The famous Anfield “twelfth man” is showing signs of fatigue, and Dominik Szoboszlai has noticed. As the dust settled on a bruising Sunday afternoon on Merseyside, the fallout was not just about the two points dropped against a struggling Tottenham side, but the visual of a stadium emptying long before the final whistle.
Richarlison’s 90th-minute equaliser was the ultimate punishment for a Liverpool side that failed to kill the contest, yet for Szoboszlai, the damage was being done in the stands well before the ball hit the back of the net.
The result leaves the Reds fifth, two points adrift of the Champions League places, with their home record now featuring four draws and three defeats in 15 Premier League games under intense scrutiny.
“It doesn’t help us”
Addressing the growing tension between the pitch and the stands, the Hungary captain was blunt about the impact of fans heading for the exits early.
“I don’t think it helps us that after 80 minutes people start to go home; it doesn’t help us at all. Stick with us,” Szoboszlai said. “Everyone is noticing that and when we concede a goal still people are leaving the stadium – you don’t leave when we score. I understand the frustration, but we need them, we need everybody.”
He continued: “I don’t say they have no right to leave the stadium, they can leave if they want. We need them and they should know this. We are one less without them.”
The late-goal curse
The 1-1 draw followed a harrowing pattern for Arne Slot’s men. This was the eighth time this season Liverpool have conceded in the 90th minute or later a recurring nightmare that previously saw them lose points at Wolves, Manchester City, and Bournemouth.
Despite Szoboszlai firing the hosts ahead with his fourth direct free-kick of the campaign, Liverpool’s wastefulness (just four shots on target from 17 attempts) left the door ajar.
“It’s a good question. If I knew the answer I would be the first one to go to the team and say it,” Szoboszlai admitted when asked why the late collapses continue.
“A couple of weeks ago we had a talk between each other saying ‘Guys we don’t have such a lot of time to do this right so we have to wake up and start to go in a way that we want to play Champions League next season’. It’s a little bit boring when I say this but we still need to find a solution because we are running out of time.”
Unity before the “tough” Galatasaray clash
The timing of the discord is particularly perilous. Liverpool face a season-defining night on Wednesday, needing to overturn a one-goal deficit against Galatasaray to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
“We have Galatasaray on Wednesday and that will be a tough game because we felt it there,” Szoboszlai warned. “It should be normal that in hard times we stick together more because that’s what we need: we need each other. We want to make them happy; it’s not that we do it on purpose. We want to make ourselves happy, make all the Liverpool supporters happy, but we need them.”
Acknowledging the dip in entertainment value compared to the swashbuckling performances of the previous year, he made an impassioned plea for patience.
“Last year it was for sure enjoyable to watch all the games, but this year maybe it’s not that enjoyable. But still support us also when we are in difficult times. I understand the frustration but we need them.”
A tense finale
While many fans chose to “vote with their feet” even before Richarlison scored, those who remained until the end made their voices heard with a chorus of boos at the final whistle. The draw represents a missed opportunity to leapfrog Aston Villa into fourth, leaving the squad in a state of introspection.
As the Reds prepare for a high-stakes European night, the message from the dressing room is clear: the road to the Champions League is a path they cannot walk alone.
