Andy Robertson didn’t hold back after Dominik Szoboszlai’s mistake against Barnsley. Szoboszlai scored a stunning goal—his 100th as a pro—to put Liverpool in front, then Frimpong doubled the lead. But then, Szoboszlai tried a flashy back-heel in his own box. It blew up in his face. Adam Phillips, an ex-Liverpool academy player, pounced and scored right in front of the Kop.

That goal gave Barnsley a lift after halftime. Liverpool had to dig deep. Late goals from subs Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike finally put the game to bed. Liverpool moved on to the fourth round, with Brighton set to visit Anfield next.

Conor Hourihane, Barnsley’s manager, called Szoboszlai’s move “disrespectful”. Arne Slot said he’d talk to Szoboszlai about it, too.

Robertson explained the mood in the dressing room. “We all said something at the time, but he realised and apologised at half-time. If anyone’s earned a bit of slack this season, it’s Dom. He’s given us everything every game. This was just a moment where he lost focus. It’s not good, especially when we’re up against bigger teams.”

He went on, “What really annoyed me is that the mistake let Barnsley back in. We’ve done that too often this season. From day one, we’ve allowed teams back into games, and sometimes we’ve paid for it. At 2-0, we looked comfortable, then suddenly we’re answering questions again. It was a clear individual error, but after that, we tightened up. Then it was just about getting that third and fourth goal.”

He also praised the substitutes for making an impact.

Robertson couldn’t hide his frustration about Szoboszlai’s blunder. “Calling it a gift for Barnsley is being generous,” he said. “The annoying part is, Dom sprinted sixty yards to win the ball back. The Kop loved it. Maybe that went to his head! We can laugh about it now, but honestly, we can’t give away goals like that.”

“He knows it, too. He’s been brilliant for us all season, and again tonight. He just switched off for a second, but we can’t have that in the six-yard box.”

He added, “Gio (Mamardashvili) wasn’t thrilled. He wants a clean sheet; we all do. It handed Barnsley a way back in, and for a long time, it was 2-1. That made things tense, but we saw it through.”

“We need to find the balance. At the start of the season, we attacked well but left ourselves too open at the back. Now we’ve kind of flipped it.”

Barnsley found themselves gifted a goal at Anfield, all thanks to a wild lapse in judgment from Dominik Szoboszlai. Out of nowhere, Szoboszlai tried this flashy backheel pass inside his own six-yard box. It went about as badly as you’d expect.

Funny thing is, not long before that, Szoboszlai looked like the hero. He’d just hammered in a 25-yard rocket to put Liverpool ahead, settling the nerves after Barnsley actually started brighter. Liverpool seemed to have things under control, especially once Jeremie Frimpong smashed in a beauty in the 36th minute. At 2-0, you figure that’s probably it for Barnsley.

But then, right before halftime, everything changed. Adam Phillips, who used to play for Liverpool, chased down a loose ball in the box. Szoboszlai tried to keep it away from him, but his touch was heavy, and suddenly he’s dribbling across his own goalmouth. Phillips kept chasing, and when Szoboszlai went for that ridiculous backheel, he missed the ball completely. Phillips just tapped it in. Easiest goal he’s ever scored. Barnsley cut the deficit and went into the break just 2-1 down.

Szoboszlai looked absolutely crushed—head down, hands on knees, probably wishing the pitch would swallow him. Barnsley fans were loving it, cheering like mad, while Liverpool fans just grumbled and shook their heads.

On social media, Liverpool supporters didn’t hold back. “Pure arrogance,” one fan snapped on X. “He got what he deserved.”

Even the commentators were stunned. Ally McCoist on TNT Sports couldn’t believe it. “He does well to get back; he’s done the hard part, and then—does he try to stand on the ball or backheel it? He goes for the backheel! What is he thinking? That’s incredible. Absolutely incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player of that quality try something like that in such a dangerous spot. I’m stunned.”

Steve McManaman, ex-Liverpool winger, looked furious at halftime. “I don’t like it at all from Szoboszlai. You’d never do that against Arsenal or Manchester City. Why he’s pulling that against Barnsley, I’ll never know. Maybe something’s going on in his head…he was flicking the ball around earlier and looked so comfortable. But you just don’t do that there. I didn’t like it.”