Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai was fortunate not to have been shown a red card during his side’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Arne Slot tasted defeat in the Anfield dugout for the first time in his tenure, with Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi curling a sensational effort past Alisson in the 72nd minute to make Liverpool pay for their missed opportunities.
The Reds had their fair share of chances throughout the bout, with Luis Diaz hitting the post from a tight angle and Diogo Jota failing to beat Matz Sels from close range on what was a frustrating afternoon for the home side on Merseyside.
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And those frustrations nearly saw Szoboszlai given his marching orders by referee Michael Oliver late on. The midfielder was booked in the 86th minute for a late foul on Neco Williams.
Then, just moments later, Szoboszlai brought down Hudson-Odoi, with Oliver awarding Forest a free-kick. But rather than giving the ball back to his opponents, the Hungary international half-heartedly played on and fired a strike across the face of the goal in temper.
Several Forest players appealed and felt that Szoboszlai should have received a second yellow card, especially after seeing how the laws were firmly enforced during the clash between Arsenal and Brighton before the international break.
Arsenal star Declan Rice was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away from Joel Veltman as he attempted to take a free-kick, and he received a swipe from the Brighton defender for his troubles.
Mikel Arteta was left furious by the decision, calling for more consistency between matches, and seeing Szoboszlai remain on the pitch would have rubbed salt into the wounds at the Emirates Stadium.
Rice’s dismissal has seen him ruled out of the north London derby against Tottenham on Sunday and left his side short of midfield options in what already appears to be a crucial match in the title race.
In contrast, Szoboszlai played the full 90 minutes at Anfield and will be available for his side’s clash with Bournemouth later this month. It remains to be seen whether the playmaker remains in Slot’s starting 11 for the match though given that Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones are both knocking on the door for starts under their new boss.
