In the Zone: How Dominik Szoboszlai drove Liverpool past Atlético de Madrid

Alexis Mac Allister's ferocious winning strike stole the headlines but Dominik Szoboszlai took the Player of the Match plaudits for his driving role in Liverpool's comeback win over Atlético de Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

As is highlighted by the video analysis below – brought to you by FedEx – Szoboszlai stood out for not only his 40th-minute equaliser but for a performance that included the most touches (87), most key passes (five) and most dribbles (six, with four of them successful) of any player inside Anfield.

As Rafa Benítez, the UEFA Technical Observer and former Liverpool manager, said: "He was good on the ball, showed great commitment and made plenty of driving runs."

There was a tactical factor in Liverpool's recovery from Marcos Llorente's opening goal – the Spaniard's fifth at Anfield, a stadium he enjoys so much he named his dog after it – yet once coach Andoni Iraola had tweaked his set-up to cope with Atleti's five-man midfield, Szobozlai was instrumental in effecting the momentum shift.

That was captured by the sight of the Hungarian, who produced the most high-intensity runs of anyone in a red shirt, powering through Atleti's defence for his equalising goal – aided by Ronald Araújo's cute assist.

When Liverpool had previously hosted visitors from Madrid – Atleti's neighbours Real last November – Mac Allister got the winning goal while Szoboszlai played a crucial role with his set-piece deliveries. Iraola commented after last night's match on the midfield pair's attacking instincts when saying: "It is inside them. It's good we can benefit from those situations where they arrive in the box."

In Szoboszlai's case, that instinct helped him get five goals in last season's competition. He now has seven Champions League goals overall for Liverpool.

Summing up the game, Szoboszlai said: "It was a 50-50 duel but we gave everything we have." And speaking of duels, we should add that he ranked first for those too, with 12 in total. It was that kind of performance.

Rafa Benítez made his name by winning two league championships and the UEFA Cup with Valencia in the early 2000s before steering Liverpool to a famous victory in the 2005 Champions League final. He subsequently won the 2012/13 Europa League at Chelsea.