MY ACCOUNT
Jurgen Klopp and Diogo Jota have been encouraged by Darwin Nunez’s displays ahead Liverpool’s Champions League meeting with Rangers.
Nunez struggled to hit the ground running at Liverpool following his arrival from Benfica and has only featured in five Premier League matches – for a total of 267 minutes – due in large part to a three-game suspension he received for lashing out at Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen in August.
The Uruguay forward was foiled on several occasions as Liverpool beat Rangers 2-0 last week. He has had nine shots in the Champions League without scoring this season – only Mohamed Salah (10) has had more attempts for the Reds. It is in stark contrast to last term, when he netted six times in the competition for Benfica.
However, after Nunez scored his second league goal of the season in Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, Klopp is hopeful the 23-year-old is hitting his stride.
“It’s very important for him to be confident,” Klopp said in a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s match at Ibrox Stadium. “He had a lot of good moments against Rangers, in moments he was unplayable but still, big goalie saves.
“He got the goal, he was really hard-working, so his performance was a positive, for sure.”
Fellow Reds attacker Jota is also convinced Nunez will soon show his true quality, adding: “He started really well and people started to think his adaptation was never a problem, but maybe he required a few more games to get used to that level.
“With this run of games he’s having, he’s already scoring and people in the squad are already understanding his game. So, it’s good for everyone and tomorrow there will be proof of that, I hope.”
Although Liverpool are bidding for a third successive Champions League win on Wednesday, their return of just 10 points from eight Premier League games is their worst tally at this stage of a campaign since the 2012-13 season (nine), when they went on to finish seventh.
Klopp, however, remains up for the challenge, adding: “It’s really tricky, yes, we can play better, and we did not go to Arsenal to show how good we are, we went there to win.
“This is a tough situation but it’s a challenge. We always face challenges, and we’ll go for it.
“I feel sorry for people who thought after last season that we’d go again and fly again and compete for everything.
“Now it’s not the case. I can’t promise we will fly tomorrow, but we will fight, definitely, until someone tells us the fight is over.
“It didn’t become easier since Sunday because of the injuries but the team I saw today in training I liked a lot. Let’s give it a go.”
