DOMINIK SZOBOSZLAI HAS apologised to Liverpool fans as the Reds midfielder claimed there was a “misunderstanding” over his body language after the recent FA Cup defeat at Manchester City.
Liverpool’s players were jeered when they walked over to applaud their supporters following the embarrassing 4-0 loss against City in the quarter-finals.
Szoboszlai responded by shrugging, raising his arms and clapping in a move widely interpreted as sarcasm and frustration with the fans’ abuse.
The Hungarian midfielder was ushered away by Liverpool team-mate Federico Chiesa, but Szoboszlai tried to play down the incident ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against holders Paris Saint-Germain.
“Maybe it was a misunderstanding between me and the fans,” he told reporters on Monday.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. Obviously, I know what the fans mean to this club and what the club means to the fans.
“We do everything for the fans as they do for us. If it was a misunderstanding, then I apologise.
“I’m not feeling better than them; I feel exactly the same as they do. I am with them, we are with them, and hopefully they are with us as well.”
Liverpool are on the verge of elimination from the Champions League at the hands of PSG for a second successive season.
A lacklustre performance in Paris last week has left Arne Slot’s side with a daunting task if they are to produce a stunning upset against the champions at Anfield.
“We’re going to go all in and give our best. I’m ready to die on the pitch tomorrow (Tuesday),” Szoboszlai said.
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“It is going to be a different game from the first leg. We are going to be doing stuff in a different way.
“I can speak for all of the players because we want it so bad. Anything can happen in one game at Anfield.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot during a press conference at Anfield. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Meanwhile, Arne Slot admits Liverpool will need a “very special” performance to overturn their 2-0 deficit against PSG.
Liverpool failed to muster a single shot on target at the Parc des Princes, and Slot acknowledged they will have to improve significantly to stun Luis Enrique’s team at Anfield.
“We know we need an exceptional performance to go to the next round, but that’s completely normal when you face the champions of Europe,” Slot told reporters on Monday.
“In the 49 home games we have played under me, 36 times we were able to score two goals or more.
“Yes, we have not played all these 49 games against Paris Saint-Germain, I realise that, but the Premier League and Champions League opponents we had were very strong.
“So there is a belief we can do special things tomorrow, but we need to be very, very, very special to achieve that.”
Slot has come under mounting scrutiny following Liverpool’s woeful defence of the Premier League title and their embarrassing FA Cup quarter-final exit in a 4-0 thrashing at Manchester City.
After three successive defeats against Brighton, City and PSG, Liverpool kept the critics at bay, for a few days at least, with a 2-0 win against Fulham on Saturday.
But a tame exit from the Champions League would intensify the pressure on Slot ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Everton.
- ‘Start aggressive’ -
Slot knows Liverpool need to at least put up a better fight than in Paris, where they struggled to retain possession and rarely troubled the PSG defence.
“We are playing the champions of Europe so that makes the task more difficult but not impossible,” he said.
“For now, let’s just focus on the job at hand, start aggressively and make sure we can get back in the tie.
“Even Saturday showed how important a goal is… minutes (later) we scored the second. That is what football is about, a goal can change the momentum, which happened negatively for us at Manchester City.”
While Slot was criticised for Liverpool’s passive first-leg performance, the Reds boss insisted his side could win with a similar approach at Anfield.
“People probably find it very hard [to understand] what I am about to say now but the approach is not so different tomorrow than it was in Paris. For the people who know me, I never tell them to play in a low block for 90 minutes,” he said.
“You could see we pressed them high on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, seven or eight of those moments led them to be one-on-one with our goalkeeper.
“The last time we faced each other they had the ball for 76 percent of the time, so that’s the first thing we have to change tomorrow, to have the ball more.
“If we have more of it, then it’s nice to have the attacking threat on the pitch, and that’s what we will have tomorrow.”
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Szoboszlai says sorry to Liverpool fans after Man City incident
DOMINIK SZOBOSZLAI HAS apologised to Liverpool fans as the Reds midfielder claimed there was a “misunderstanding” over his body language after the recent FA Cup defeat at Manchester City.
Liverpool’s players were jeered when they walked over to applaud their supporters following the embarrassing 4-0 loss against City in the quarter-finals.
Szoboszlai responded by shrugging, raising his arms and clapping in a move widely interpreted as sarcasm and frustration with the fans’ abuse.
The Hungarian midfielder was ushered away by Liverpool team-mate Federico Chiesa, but Szoboszlai tried to play down the incident ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against holders Paris Saint-Germain.
“Maybe it was a misunderstanding between me and the fans,” he told reporters on Monday.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. Obviously, I know what the fans mean to this club and what the club means to the fans.
“We do everything for the fans as they do for us. If it was a misunderstanding, then I apologise.
“I’m not feeling better than them; I feel exactly the same as they do. I am with them, we are with them, and hopefully they are with us as well.”
Liverpool are on the verge of elimination from the Champions League at the hands of PSG for a second successive season.
A lacklustre performance in Paris last week has left Arne Slot’s side with a daunting task if they are to produce a stunning upset against the champions at Anfield.
“We’re going to go all in and give our best. I’m ready to die on the pitch tomorrow (Tuesday),” Szoboszlai said.
“It is going to be a different game from the first leg. We are going to be doing stuff in a different way.
“I can speak for all of the players because we want it so bad. Anything can happen in one game at Anfield.”
Meanwhile, Arne Slot admits Liverpool will need a “very special” performance to overturn their 2-0 deficit against PSG.
Liverpool failed to muster a single shot on target at the Parc des Princes, and Slot acknowledged they will have to improve significantly to stun Luis Enrique’s team at Anfield.
“We know we need an exceptional performance to go to the next round, but that’s completely normal when you face the champions of Europe,” Slot told reporters on Monday.
“In the 49 home games we have played under me, 36 times we were able to score two goals or more.
“Yes, we have not played all these 49 games against Paris Saint-Germain, I realise that, but the Premier League and Champions League opponents we had were very strong.
“So there is a belief we can do special things tomorrow, but we need to be very, very, very special to achieve that.”
Slot has come under mounting scrutiny following Liverpool’s woeful defence of the Premier League title and their embarrassing FA Cup quarter-final exit in a 4-0 thrashing at Manchester City.
After three successive defeats against Brighton, City and PSG, Liverpool kept the critics at bay, for a few days at least, with a 2-0 win against Fulham on Saturday.
But a tame exit from the Champions League would intensify the pressure on Slot ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Everton.
- ‘Start aggressive’ -
Slot knows Liverpool need to at least put up a better fight than in Paris, where they struggled to retain possession and rarely troubled the PSG defence.
“We are playing the champions of Europe so that makes the task more difficult but not impossible,” he said.
“For now, let’s just focus on the job at hand, start aggressively and make sure we can get back in the tie.
“Even Saturday showed how important a goal is… minutes (later) we scored the second. That is what football is about, a goal can change the momentum, which happened negatively for us at Manchester City.”
While Slot was criticised for Liverpool’s passive first-leg performance, the Reds boss insisted his side could win with a similar approach at Anfield.
“People probably find it very hard [to understand] what I am about to say now but the approach is not so different tomorrow than it was in Paris. For the people who know me, I never tell them to play in a low block for 90 minutes,” he said.
“You could see we pressed them high on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, seven or eight of those moments led them to be one-on-one with our goalkeeper.
“The last time we faced each other they had the ball for 76 percent of the time, so that’s the first thing we have to change tomorrow, to have the ball more.
“If we have more of it, then it’s nice to have the attacking threat on the pitch, and that’s what we will have tomorrow.”
– © AFP 2026
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