After carrying Liverpool through a host of games last season, Dominik Szoboszlai was rewarded with a huge new contract and the vice captaincy. But doubts over both his form and leadership this term peaked on Wednesday night in a show of embarrassing and baseless petulance.

Liverpool don’t have a happy recent history of handing out bumper new deals.

Mohammed Salah left halfway through a two-year contract in the summer after by far his worst season in a Liverpool shirt.

Ryan Gravenberch has been replaced in Andoni Iraola’s starting XI by academy graduate Trey Nyoni after signing a new deal in March through to 2032.

And Szoboszlai is in no way justifying his new £320,000 per week after penning fresh terms on a five-year deal in July.

Alexis Mac Allister’s return to form after he revealed he was “really sad” not to be offered a new contract in the summer suggests Liverpool might have been wise to hold those Szoboszlai and Gravenberch deals back.

No one would say Szoboszlai didn’t deserve a pay rise after his displays last season – albeit not quite such an extraordinary bump from £120,000 per week.

He was key to them qualifying for the Champions League and got 13 goals and 11 assists in all competitions despite spending a fair chunk of the time filling in at right-back, dragging them through games to leave few in doubt that he should be the next Liverpool captain after Virgil van Dijk.

He may still be the next Liverpool captain, but now more by default in a squad bereft of leaders, as a player who’s always had a very high opinion of himself is now taking aim at teammates he clearly believes to be inferior teammates.

Arrogance which saw Szoboszlai stick his chest out and take games by the scruff of the neck last season now manifests itself as arm-flapping and sulking in full view of his manager, the rest of the team and the fans.

We suspect those of a Reds bent sat watching at home might have had a similar reaction upon seeing Kostas Tsimikas trotting over to take a corner against Fenerbahce, but unlike Szoboszlai, they weren’t in the process of delivering the most inaccurate crosses (17) by any player in a Champions League game in the last two seasons.

Liverpool reporter David Lynch was thoroughly unimpressed by the Hungarian’s performance in general.

Lynch said on Anfield Index’s Media Matters podcast: “A terrible night. He was just very, very poor.

“He’s not great at progressing the ball from deeper positions. He’s kind of struggled in that aspect a little bit when he’s been used there.

“And he was dreadful. There’s just no two ways of talking about it, really.

“In terms of leading the press, no help whatsoever, no tackles made.”

Lynch added: “Yeah, just couldn’t get into the game or influence it.

“He just had to do better than that. And I just think that you cannot make a case to put him in the team at the moment.”

As well as a measly 20% cross accuracy and no tackles, Szoboszlai also made no interceptions, no ball recoveries and failed to win a single ground or aerial duel.

He’s not currently worthy of a place in the team let alone be named captain, and the armband will surely be passed to an alternative after Van Dijk if Szoboszlai continues to ape Bruno Fernandes.

🚨: Szoboszlai’s reaction to Tsimikas taking a corner last night 🫣 #LFC https://t.co/Q0UFRjEtDK

— James Wathland (@JamesWathland) November 5, 2026

After spotting Tsimikas was about to take what he clearly perceived to be his corner kick to hit the first man, Szoboszlai threw his head and arms in the air, turned towards the bench and pointed to his chest like a pre-schooler imploring an teacher to return a toy being played by a usurper back to its rightful owner.

Is that the attitude of the next Liverpool captain? The succession is no longer clear.