- Arne Slot trusts that Darwin Núñez can succeed at Liverpool
- Núñez has scored three goals this season and Slot says he is trying too hard
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Arne Slot has given a big vote of confidence to striker Darwin Nunez, saying it is “a matter of time” before the Uruguayan hits the ground running in Liverpool.
The Reds head coach reckons Nunez, who has scored just three goals all season, is “trying too hard” to please fans in front of goal, but has backed the £85million man to move on. their problems in the coming months.
Núñez’s problem is that he has not taken advantage of his opportunities in the two months that his teammate number 9 Diogo Jota missed due to injury. The Portuguese is now back and will likely be on the bench on Saturday, while Luis Díaz has also shown his talent playing through the middle.
“Darwin has already shown that he is a goalscorer,” Slot said. ‘He is capable of doing it. In my opinion, it is a matter of time before he starts to score. But he competes with Luis, who can also play as number 9, and with Diogo.
‘For me it has an impact. If we just look at goals, he hasn’t scored the amount of goals he wants to score (or we want our number 9 to score), but it does have an impact on his work rate. If we lose the ball, he is aggressive to get it back and still create opportunities.
Arne Slot has given a big vote of confidence to Liverpool forward Darwin Núñez
Slot believes Núñez, who has only scored three goals this season, is trying too hard
“He is part of a team that scores a lot of goals and is winning a lot, but of course as a number 9 you want to score more goals and that is definitely what he wants too.” But so far I’m not just judging Mo (Salah) by his goals, I’m not just judging Darwin by his goals.
“Maybe it’s because the fans are so supportive, maybe he wants to score that goal too much for himself and also for the fans because they’ve been so supportive.”
Núñez has received criticism from fans in recent weeks and posted a response on Instagram on Wednesday, saying “resilience” and “it’s not all, it’s some. Thanks for your support, Rojos.” ‘
And Slot added: ‘The fans love him a lot, I heard something about criticism on social media, but he won’t be the first player to receive criticism on social media! That’s what happens if you miss an opportunity or two.
‘If we had lost the game (Wednesday against Girona) then it would be that my substitutions or my line-up were not good… that’s what social media is all about! If you win, everything’s brilliant, if you lose, it’s all shit!’
Slot acknowledges that Nunez needs an arm around his shoulder at this difficult time in terms of confidence, but has told the 25-year-old Uruguayan that he is judged on his overall performance and not just his finishing.
Slot recognizes that Núñez needs an arm around his shoulder in this difficult moment
“Ideally, I would have scored a few more goals,” the Dutch coach continued. ‘Maybe in a few weeks they will ask me about Mo not scoring anymore and Darwin scoring one goal after another. It’s the life of a 9, sometimes you score and sometimes you don’t.
“But what there should always be is a work rhythm and that is what it has, except for two games: against Las Palmas (a friendly) and the last half hour against Girona were not at the level it should have. That had a lot to do with it. to do with him being disappointed about losing some opportunities.
Jota is expected to be on the bench against Fulham after a full week of training, while summer signing Federico Chiesa is also in line to make the squad. Kostas Tsimikas has intensified his recovery but will not be able to compete and Alexis Mac Allister is suspended.