Liverpool had a cracker of an opening Champions League encounter against AC Milan on Tuesday night.

After conceding a shock goal courtesy of Christian Pulisic in the third minute of the game, the Reds came back in emphatic fashion, with goals from Ibrahima Konaté (23′), Virgil van Dijk (41′), and Dominik Szoboszlai (67′) sealing the three points for them.

After the game, one Liverpool legend made an interesting remark regarding one of the goal-scorers.

Dominik Szoboszlai “closest I’ve seen to Steven Gerrard,” says John Barnes

Former footballer and pundit John Barnes was full of praise for Dominik Szoboszlai after his goal-scoring heroics against Milan.

The former Liverpool star made quite a bold claim after the Reds’ opening UCL encounter.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say Dominik Szoboszlai has ever been forced into the Liverpool team… he earned his position in the team. He’s a fantastic player.

“He can do everything. He could play under Jurgen Klopp in terms of his height, his strength and his ability to drive forward, play quickly and counter-attack. He can also play in a very composed manner, so he can play in that number six role, or that number eight role.

“He’s the closest I’ve seen to Steven Gerrard. You know, in terms of his range of passing, his dribbling, chasing back, his tackling… I look at him as an old-school midfielder who gets up and down. These days, you’re generally one or the other; you’re Kevin De Bruyne or you’re Rodri.

“But Szoboszlai can do both, and so I think that the way Arne Slot wants to play will really, really suit him, because he’s a very technical player, with the physical attributes to do so much more. We’ve seen it on several occasions already this season, but for me he’s just a typical Liverpool player.”

Barnes speaking to Ladbrokes after the game, as quoted by Liverpool Echo.

Up next for Liverpool is a home game against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

Yes, and no

Gerrard was a homegrown player who came through the Liverpool academy and went on to lead them on the highest level, win trophies for them, and become one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He also spent the majority of his career at Merseyside, rejecting offers from many European giants.

These are but a few factors that govern Gerrard’s legacy at Liverpool. Szoboszlai is his own player and may very well do exceptional things for them, but he’ll never manage to come close to representing what Gerrard was and still is for the Anfield faithful.

And to be fair to Barnes, he is not calling him the next Gerrard, only that there are similarities, but Szoboszlai has a lot more performances left to deliver before he is considered a Liverpool great.

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