InterviewDominik Szoboszlai's Wembley preview: 'We're ready to fight and give it everything'

The Hungarian was one of a significant number of Reds players who were ruled out of the 2024 final due to injuries, Szoboszlai narrowly falling short of sufficient fitness to feature at that time.

He was at Wembley on the day, of course, and is excited by the possibility of now contributing on the pitch to similar scenes of elation that greeted Virgil van Dijk’s unforgettable extra-time winner against Chelsea.

“It’s unbelievable,” he told Liverpoolfc.com of the occasion ahead. “I had the opportunity to play [in the 2024 final] but I couldn’t because of my injury. Hopefully now I have the chance to play. That’s the decision of the coach but I’m ready to play.

“I waited until the end [to see] if I’m able to play or not [last year]. I wanted to. Also I had a little pain still but I wanted to play.

“But then we were thinking long term. So, it’s better not to risk it for one game and be out for even longer, so that’s why we decided not to play – [like] all the others in the final last year. But they did very well and hopefully this year as well.”

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Already shorn of the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah too, Ryan Gravenberch then had to be taken off before the half-hour mark.

But Jürgen Klopp’s Reds dug in to defeat the odds.

Backed up by a fearless group of Academy players, they ensured a 10th success in the competition for the club when Van Dijk glanced in Kostas Tsimikas’ corner kick with 118 minutes on the clock.

Remembering the moment, Szoboszlai said: “Me and Darwin just said, ‘If he scores now, we run inside.’ We totally forgot about our injuries! But we were really happy.

“Of course, that’s our goal [to retain the trophy]. Last year was a little bit tricky. As I said, we had to wait until the really last minute, and I could see they are really tired, so I could feel them.

“But yeah, that’s how we’re going to go there and try to take the trophy.”

This time, Newcastle United stand in the way of Liverpool getting their hands on the silverware.

The Magpies advanced to the final in impressive fashion, defeating Nottingham Forest, AFC Wimbledon, Chelsea, Brentford and latterly Arsenal in the semi-finals, in which they won both legs 2-0.

Arne Slot and Eddie Howe’s sides will be facing off just 18 days after doing so in the Premier League at Anfield, where Szoboszlai was on the scoresheet in a 2-0 Reds victory.

“We are ready to fight,” said the No.8. “You never know who is going to play, but it doesn’t matter on our side who is playing in midfield – everybody is ready to fight and everybody is ready to give everything for the team.

“It’s a final, so you go in a different way into the game. But as I said, it doesn’t matter who is playing.

“The most important [thing] is that everybody’s goal is the same. I know it’s always easy to say if you’re playing to the guys who are not playing so much, ‘Yeah, just focus on the team because the team is the most important’, that’s true.

“But I have been in the situation also and it’s not the easiest way, but you have to keep going, you have to handle it, your time will come. Things change really quickly. Unlucky if somebody gets injured, then you have to step in and then you have to be ready and you have to show yourself. That’s the most important [thing].

“Hopefully that can make us special, that we have the whole squad, the 25 players.”