What the Liverpool squad is saying about Szoboszlai's Spurs screamer

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While Dominik Szoboszlai’s screamer in the 3-1 Carabao Cup third round tie against Tottenham Hotspur was undoubtedly an unbelievable goal, was it an unbelievable volley?Wednesday’s wonder strike has re-sparked an age-old debate over one of football’s hardest skills, with the Liverpool squad having their say on whether Szoboszlai’s strike was a volley or a half volley.In a video published by Liverpool on their social media channels, the squad were split on the controversial topic, with the vote finishing 10-9 in favour of the goal being classified as a volley. So, what does the dictionary say?Bad news volley voters.

As a noun, Oxford describes a volley as: “In some sports, for example tennis or football, a hit or kick of the ball before it touches the ground”.With the Hungarian goal clearly bouncing after he receives possession, that officially rules it out as being a volley. Oxford defines a half volley as: “In tennis and football, a shot or kick immediately after the ball has bounced”.While this is more subjective, Szoboszlai catches his strike as the ball is descending, compared to catching it immediately after it bounces – the technique we associate with some of the great half-volleys.While by dictionary definition Anfield didn’t see a volley or half-volley on Tuesday night, it has still seen some great examples of both over the years.The most famous case of a perfectly executed half-volley the Kop End has ever seen has to be Steven Gerrard’s wonder strike against Olympiacos back in 2004.Liverpool v Olympiakos | Phil Noble - PA Images/GettyImagesWith the clock ticking, the ball fell to the Liverpool skipper, who connected with it beautifully just as it rose centimetres above the Anfield turf.

Now that’s what you call a half-volley.With the difficult technique required to pull off a full volley, the list of Anfield examples is inevitably sparser. However, it’s captain fantastic once again who provided a brilliant example with his left-footed volley against Manchester United in September 2012.After some brilliant full-back work from Glen Johnson, the ball broke to Gerrard in the box, with Liverpool’s captain controlling it on his chest before volleying home, without a bounce.Liverpool v Manchester United - Premier League | John Powell/GettyImagesSo, while Dominic Szoboszlai’s strike drew Gerrard-like comparisons, it wasn’t technically a Gerrard-like Volley - not according to the dictionary anyway.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow