Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has playfully called out Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai for his subdued celebration after scoring in the Reds' 4-1 FA Cup victory over Barnsley. Haaland, who drew a blank in City's 10-1 thrashing of Exeter City in their third-round tie, posted a Snapchat video of Szoboszlai's muted reaction with the caption: 'Domi what a goal smile a bit.'
Szoboszlai opened the scoring with a trademark thunderous effort before Jeremie Frimpong doubled Liverpool's lead. However, the Hungarian endured an embarrassing moment when his attempted backheel inside his own six-yard area gifted Adam Phillips a goal for Barnsley. The League One side also appealed for a penalty after Reyes Cleary fell under Szoboszlai's challenge, but the referee waved play on.
Despite his subdued reaction, Szoboszlai did celebrate the goal by mimicking Mohamed Salah's iconic celebration from 2019, a tribute to the Egyptian who is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations. Barnsley manager Connor Hourihane criticised Szoboszlai, accusing him of disrespect towards the lower league opposition. 'I don't think he does that against Chelsea, or Arsenal in a Champions League game,' Hourihane said.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot declined to comment on the incident publicly, acknowledging it was a 'weird' decision but stating the issue would be discussed privately with the player. 'I don't think you should do that in a Premier League game, League Cup game, friendly game or a training session,' Slot said.
