Liverpool’s Arne Slot: Misfiring Darwin Núñez ‘desires it an excessive amount of’
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has mentioned striker Darwin Núñez desires to attain objectives “nearly an excessive amount of” amid ongoing criticism of his performances for the membership.
Núñez has struggled for type this season, scoring simply three objectives in 19 appearances for Slot’s facet.
He has began eight of Liverpool’s final eleven video games within the absence of the injured Diogo Jota — who might return to the matchday squad in opposition to Fulham this weekend after recovering from a rib damage — however he has failed to essentially make the No. 9 place his personal.
The 25-year-old seemed upset when he was substituted after spurning a lot of possibilities throughout Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Girona on Tuesday evening, nonetheless Slot has insisted he’s being judged on greater than his aim return.
“For me he has influence,” the Liverpool boss mentioned in a information convention on Friday. “When you solely have a look at objectives, he hasn’t scored the quantity of objectives he desires to attain, or we wish our No. 9 to attain however he does have influence in his work price.
“He is a part of a workforce that’s scoring a number of objectives and is successful rather a lot. However after all, as a No. 9 you need to rating objectives and that is undoubtedly what he desires as effectively. I am not solely judging Mo [Salah] on his objectives. I am not solely judging Darwin on his objectives. I am judging them on their work price and what they create to the workforce and that has been optimistic till now.
“Perhaps additionally as a result of the followers assist him a lot, perhaps he desires it nearly an excessive amount of to attain for himself and in addition for the followers as a result of they have been very supportive of him.”
After the win over Girona, Núñez appeared to acknowledge the latest criticism of his performances in a put up to his Instagram story which learn: “They aren’t all, they’re some. Thanks Reds in your assist, we’re all nonetheless collectively.”
Requested whether or not Núñez has been affected by the surface noise surrounding his type, Slot mentioned: “All of us noticed it did one thing to him when he missed the possibilities on Tuesday. I believe all people then wants an arm round them whether or not it’s from a teammate, the followers or their supervisor.
“However I additionally made it clear to him he’s not solely judged on the objectives he scores, he is additionally judged on the workforce efficiency and he provides one thing to the workforce efficiency. Ideally, he has scored a couple of objectives extra, however it’s the lifetime of a No. 9, generally you rating, generally you do not.”
