Mohamed Salah has brushed aside the flak aimed at teammate Darwin Nunez, admitting that since Roberto Firmino's departure, the Uruguayan is his preferred strike partner at Liverpool.
Despite Nunez netting only three times in 18 outings and once in his last nine matches — a goal in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa — Salah has had to defend the forward amid Liverpool's strong performance in both the Premier League and Champions League.
With Salah himself topping the scoring charts alongside Erling Haaland with 13 goals, he took time during a Visa and El Mashrek-sponsored Zoom Q&A to respond to fans' queries, one of which touched on his favored Anfield teammate in attack.
When Nunez was mentioned, Salah backed his No.9, saying: "Who do I most like to play with? It was Firmino. Now I feel like I generally like playing with Nunez."
He continued, addressing the skepticism from some corners: "A lot of people don't like him but I like playing with him. I see Bahaa (the man in the video asking the question) keeps shaking his head not liking [Nunez]."
Salah concluded with a chuckle: "Nah, I like playing with him in general. [Nunez is] a player with different skills. Not a lot of people understand his ball."
Liverpool.com says: It's an interesting take from Salah, given a lot of Liverpool fans would probably pick Diogo Jota over Nunez at the moment if he was fit. Salah though does seem to perform better when the Uruguayan is in the team. That might complicate things a little for Arne Slot, given he seems to prefer Jota, but if it brings out the best in Salah, maybe Nunez is worth keeping in the team.
It's no surprise though that Salah loved playing alongside Firmino. The Brazilian was so unselfish in his play, and he was one of the most important factors in the success under Jurgen Klopp. Having Bobby in his prime in the current side would have been an absolute joy to watch.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.