Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Thursday, March 19, 2026, 11:59 / Updated Thursday, March 19, 2026 12:19
Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai opened his way Liverpool to the qualification in the “quarters” with a splendid goal in the return with Galatasaray (4-0), from Wednesday night.
Szoboszlai opened the scoring in the 25th minute, then followed Salah's show with a wasted penalty, a decisive contribution to make it 2-0 and the finish that sealed the final result, 4-0. But Liverpool could win the return leg with Galatasaray even more consistently, if they materialize all the opportunities they created.
Where does this appetite come from, after the modest 1-1 draw with Tottenham, in the Premier League, Dominik Szoboszlai explained at the end. The Hungarian midfielder claims that the way the Turks celebrated their narrow 1-0 tour victory fueled Liverpool's desire to teach them a lesson at 'Anfield Road'.
Dominik Szoboszlai: “I took it a little personally”
“From the first minute we had this idea in our head, let's get revenge,” the midfielder told TNT Sports: “Last game, while I was doing an interview, I heard them celebrating. I spoke to a few guys in Turkey and it's common there that after the games you celebrate, it doesn't matter if there's a return leg.
But I took it a little personally, you know, I think a lot of us thought the same thing. You should never celebrate too soon. Maybe they didn't want to, but that gave us a little impetus and I think that from the first second, simply, we had it in our heads to take revenge”.
Hugo Ekitike: “We could have won 10-0”
Hugo Ekitike, who increased the score to 2-0, from Salah's pass, had no pity for the Turkish champion either. “We deserve to be here, we're very happy,” said the Frenchman, quoted by The Mirror tabloid: “We did a really good job tonight, we could have won 10-0, so we can look forward to the quarter-finals.
I made a few changes at halftime and then, after we scored for 2-0, we felt freer. Everyone did a great job and we ran for each other.”
