Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has acknowledged that Darwin Nunez expressed discontent about not being included in the starting lineup during their impressive come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Newcastle United.
Nunez, who has faced significant criticism for his lackluster finishing since joining the club last summer, found himself on the substitutes’ bench for the third consecutive league game.
However, the 24-year-old seized the spotlight with a remarkable contribution, entering the match with only 13 minutes remaining at St James’ Park. His impactful performance resulted in securing all three points for a 10-man Liverpool side, which had their captain, Virgil van Dijk, dismissed for a challenge on Alexander Isak.
Newcastle took the lead in the 25th minute through Anthony Gordon’s strike, but Nunez’s late brace orchestrated a stunning comeback triumph for the Reds.
“Definitely what I said to Darwin had no influence on his performance. Pep Lijnders can speak to him and that’s what he did, I just give him a hug and encourage him to go out there and fight for the team. That’s it. Darwin, we had that before, he is not happy for not starting, that’s how it is but somebody, in this early stage of the season, cannot start.” Klopp said.
“We cannot have 11 players and play them all the time, so we need to find stability is the discussion… I don’t know if the public discusses it but of course players are not happy [when they do not start].
“But after the international break we play every three days and nobody can play all the games so we have to make sure we have different options to go for. And we need to create a new way to play football and, of course, Darwin can be a super part of that.
“His key strengths are exceptional, absolutely, but we need to find stability as well. So, for him everything will be fine but it is just maybe it had to be like this – if he wouldn’t have been that angry and started the game today, he wouldn’t score two in the last six minutes or whatever, so let’s take it like that.”
On Nunez starting against Aston Villa next week, Klopp added: “I never made a decision about the line-up the week before the game, we will see. But you can have worse arguments, I would say.”
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