It had to be Dominik Szoboszlai. Over the course of this topsy-turvy season, the midfielder has evolved from a key member of Liverpool‘s supporting cast to their standout performer, and so it proved again on Wednesday night as his inventive free kick set his team on the path to a priceless 3-0 victory over Marseille in the UEFA Champions League.

After a campaign in which he has deservedly won plaudits for his all-action displays at the heart of Liverpool’s engine room, Szoboszlai has found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in recent weeks.

The Hungary international was dubbed “disrespectful” by Barnsley boss Conor Hourihane after a careless backheel cost the Reds a goal in the FA Cup, while his missed penalty against Burnley at the weekend resulted in more needlessly squandered points in the Premier League.

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But amid the mounting pressure, Szoboszlai kept his cool at the Stade Vélodrome, with his goal on the stroke of halftime perfectly epitomizing his character. Cheeky, impudent and full of quality, the midfielder’s free kick squirmed under the Marseille wall and past goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli to settle the nerves of all in red.

As he wheeled away in celebration, Szoboszlai smiled and tapped his temple — a reminder, perhaps, that he has not let the growing outside noise disrupt his focus at a crucial point in Liverpool’s season. Even before he opened the scoring in southern France, the 25-year-old had shown flashes of brilliance, teeing up Hugo Ekitike to put the ball in the back of the Marseille net before the Frenchman’s goal was ruled out for offside.

In scoring Liverpool’s opener, Szoboszlai became the first Reds player to score a direct free kick in the Champions League since Trent Alexander-Arnold against Rangers in Oct. 2022. He also became only the third Liverpool player to score or assist a goal in at least five successive Champions League appearances, after Steven Gerrard and Mohamed Salah.

The former was watching Wednesday night’s clash from a London TV studio and was full of praise for Szoboszlai, who is the incumbent of his iconic No.8 shirt.

“You can see he’s oozing confidence,” Gerrard told TNT Sports after the game.

“I love his confidence. I love that he backs himself. I think most players, if they had Mo Salah in their ear [wanting to take the free kick], would step aside but I love the way Szoboszlai just says: ‘No chance’.”

As far as endorsements go, it was a pretty glowing one for a player who looks increasingly poised to one day emulate Gerrard by wearing the captain’s armband at Anfield. Szoboszlai’s strike was his seventh goal in all competitions this season — only one shy of his total haul from last term — and while he couldn’t add to that tally in the second half, he continued to be at the center of Liverpool’s positive play.

The midfielder was unlucky not to claim an assist when he brilliantly played Ekitike through on goal on the hour mark, only for the striker to see his powerful effort crash off the post. Shortly afterwards, Jeremie Frimpong forced the visitors’ second goal, shimmying to the byline and seeing his cutback diverted into the back of the net by the helpless Rulli.

The Reds’ third of the evening was brilliantly finished by substitute Cody Gakpo in stoppage time, but the goal owed a lot to Szoboszlai’s neat lay-off for Ryan Gravenberch in the build-up.

Certainly, it is little wonder that Liverpool are keen to keep the midfielder on a new long-term contract. It is the second European game in a row where he has claimed the headlines, having also converted the match-winning penalty away to Internazionale in early December.

At that point, Liverpool were in desperate need of a victory to boost morale after a dramatic week in which Salah had sensationally aimed head coach Arne Slot and accused the club of throwing him “under the bus.”

Salah was subsequently omitted from the matchday squad at the San Siro but started against Marseille following his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, where he helped Egypt to a fourth-placed finish in Morocco.

The Egypt international lasted the full 90 minutes against Roberto De Zerbi’s side and, while his glaring late miss is illustrative of his recent erratic form, his involvement should at least draw a line under December’s tension and potentially mark the start of a renaissance for both him and his team.

Liverpool are now undefeated in 13 games in all competitions, the longest unbeaten streak of any team in Europe’s top five leagues.

It is a statistic that does not quite tell the full story, with some results and performances having left Slot vulnerable to warranted criticism in recent weeks. However, still, it is a run that felt inconceivable when Liverpool were hemorrhaging goals earlier in the campaign.

“It could have been a tricky place to go and it is because of their fans but also because of their players and manager,” Slot said postmatch.

“We had to be very good today, and we were. We should have done better in the counterattack. We were very positive on the ball. We scored three and everyone will be more positive than when we create five chances but score one.

“In the last 13 games unbeaten, we’ve only been 54 minutes behind. We had many earlier chances to win it today. Today, we probably deserve what we got. We weren’t unlucky like we’ve been so many times this season.”

While Slot is right to point out that fortune hasn’t favored his side in recent months, he will know the standards need to be higher if he is to convince his critics that he is the right man to lead the club forward in the long term.

But, based on the evidence of Wednesday’s display, there is still plenty for Liverpool to salvage from this turbulent season, particularly if their star man Szoboszlai can keep on delivering.