Liverpool: Arne Slot fumes with Dominik Szoboszlai as 'weird' error gifts Barnsley goal in FA Cup

Midfielder’s failed backheel set up frantic second-half

Arne Slot said he will sit down with Dominik Szoboszlai to discuss his failed skill move which gifted Barnsley a goal in their FA Cup tie on Monday.

The Hungary international played both hero and villain as the Reds beat the Tykes 4-1. He produced a largely impressive performance and opened the scoring with a long-range piledriver, but allowed the visitors back into contention with a bizarre mistake .

He miss-hit an attempted backheel in his own six-yard box, allowing Adam Phillips a painfully easy goal which set the score at 2-1 when the half-time whistle blew.

Liverpool eventually won out after a nervy second half, sparing Szoboszlai’s blushes, and he made a point of apologising at full-time.

“Yeah, sorry for the team again,” he said, speaking to TNT Sports. “I made it hard for us with an easy mistake, I would say.

“Football happens, we move on and take the next round.”

He added that despite his theatrics, Liverpool were treating the FA Cup with respect, as evidenced by Slot’s strong team selection.

"We wanted to show that we take the FA Cup seriously. We always take it seriously. We showed again today we need the whole squad. The new guys came in, who didn't play as much as the others, and they showed lots of quality. We need everyone."

Slot took a dim view of the situation, though, saying he would have words with Szoboszlai about the incident behind closed doors.

He fumed: “I don’t think you should do that in an FA Cup game, or in a League Cup game, or in a friendly game, or in a training session.

“It’s a weird choice and I also have my opinion about it, but I prefer to keep it to myself and speak about it with Dom.”

Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane echoed Slot’s assessment: “I don’t think he does that against Chelsea or Arsenal or in a Champions League game, so I was disappointed with that, to be honest.”