Arne Slot and Darwin Nunez during Liverpool’s win at Girona (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted he kept Darwin Nunez on the pitch a bit longer yesterday to try and boost his confidence with a goal.
The Uruguay international has been rather disappointing since arriving at Liverpool, and currently has just one goal in his last ten games in all competitions.
Núñez wasted a few chances for Liverpool against Girona last night, although the Reds still managed a 1-0 win thanks to Mohamed Salah’s winner from the penalty spot.
The Liverpool duo earn special praise after Girona’s win
Liverpool fans will surely be concerned about Núñez’s struggles, and Slot seems to have strongly hinted that it could be a confidence issue for the former Benfica man.
Speaking after the game, as quoted by the Liverpool EchoSlot admitted that he decided to keep Nunez as long as possible in hopes that he could eventually find the back of the net.
Arne Slot playing with Liverpool’s use of Darwin Nunez
debate Nunez, Slot said: “What I can agree on is that he missed some opportunities. So the question is always, is that something to do with low confidence or is it a situation that he’s in at the moment?
“I think all strikers around the world have periods where every ball goes in, and sometimes they have a period where you try so hard but you can’t score.”
He added: “I would have loved to see Darwin score because I think all strikers want to score (and) need goals, that’s why I kept him for a long time. He was a threat but unfortunately he couldn’t score.”
While it’s admirable that Slot is going out of his way to try and help Nunez, some LFC fans may be concerned that this will come at the expense of the team.
If the 25-year-old can’t leave his opportunities, at some point it definitely needs to be replaced by someone who can, instead of giving them more and more game time to try and solve the problem.
