Dominik Szoboszlai confident in Liverpool partnership with Alexis Mac Allister

Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates scoring their side's first goal. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

Dominik Szoboszlai believes his midfield partnership with Alexis Mac Allister can bring long-term success despite early-season critics expressing doubts.

The Hungary captain started alongside the Argentina World Cup winner as the deeper-lying pair for the 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in their Champions League opener at Anfield.

All summer debate has centred around the recruitment of a genuine ‘number six’ to assume greater defensive responsibility and offer more protection to the back four as neither Szoboszlai, Mac Allister nor the third alternative Ryan Gravenberch have that as their top priority.

However, Liverpool chose to prioritise defence and wide areas in the last transfer window, which prompted former Reds defender Jamie Carragher to raise his concerns last month that the midfield could not function properly with its current personnel and structure.

But asked whether he and Mac Allister could be a success together Szoboszlai said: “We can, we can. I’ve said it many times, I love to play with Macca.

“We know each other. Without actually talking, when you look at someone and he knows what you want to do and I know exactly what he wants to do – I think that helps the team as well.

“It’s the manager’s decision who will play the next games and I think everyone is ready to compete with each other but we have to become a family.

“At the end we need everybody because the season is long and we are in all competitions and we want to be in all competitions until the end.” The game was the first time since January Liverpool had conceded the opening goal and gone on to win, a malaise which derailed the defence of their Premier League title.

But while the appetite and commitment was questioned in the latter months of Arne Slot, the arrival of new head coach Andoni Iraola has injected life into a squad which appeared to be drifting aimlessly.

“After a setback it is not easy to come back into the game, we have seen last season from losing a game we hardly created anything afterwards,” added Szoboszlai.

“But now I think it was a good reaction; we didn’t panic too much, we kept the same system, we kept playing the same way, and in the end you will have your chances because of the quality of the players and we know each other and what to do.

“I think this is the most important.

“I think it goes quite well (under Iraola). We know what he wants, he is figuring out which players he needs to do that.” 

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker has been fined £8,000 after accepting a misconduct charge for acting in an improper manner around the tunnel area after the final whistle of last month’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.

The Brazil international was seen to kick an electronic substitution board – which had been the focus of controversy earlier as the fourth official could not get it to work for three pending Liverpool substitutes, during which time Forest scored their second goal.