Liverpool narrowly beat Girona on Tuesday to make it six Champions League wins out of six this season.
The Reds have been perfect in Europe, but this one was certainly not their best display of the campaign.
Arne Slot went surprisingly strong with his team in Catalonia, no doubt trying to capitalise on the extra break after Saturday’s Merseyside Derby was called off.
And although the Liverpool squad looked brighter than they did at Newcastle a week previously, this was still not a Reds team firing on all cylinders.
A few players look a little off it right now, with Darwin Nunez unfortunately the most notable of these.
And after Nunez delivered another goalless performance riddled with low quality and errors on the ball, Slot gave his verdict on what he’d seen from the Uruguayan.
Darwin Nunez of Liverpool shoots during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Girona FC and Liverpool FC at Montilivi St...
Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images
Arne Slot desperate for Darwin Nunez goal
Liverpool simply cannot rely on Nunez at the moment. The 25-year-old has just one goal in his last 10 appearances and just three all season.
Not only that, but Nunez is negatively affecting games for Liverpool with his wayward passing and erratic form on the ball.
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As former Reds full-back Stephen Warnock noticed on Tuesday, Nunez struggled against Girona.
Despite that, Slot waited until the minute of the game to take him off for Cody Gakpo. And speaking in his post-match press conference, the Liverpool head coach said that this delayed exit was deliberate.
READ MORE: Liverpool’s player ratings vs Girona in the Champions League
“What I can agree on is that he missed a few chances,” answered Slot when asked if Nunez is low on confidence.
“Then it’s always a question does it have anything to do with low confidence? Or is this just the situation he’s in at the moment. I think every striker all around the world has periods where every ball goes in and sometimes there’s a period that you try so hard but you’re not able to score.
“I would have loved to see Darwin score because every striker wants to score, needs goals,” he added. “That’s why I kept him in for quite a long time. He was a threat, but unfortunately he couldn’t score.”
Nunez running out of time at Liverpool
After starting the season on the bench for Liverpool, this was supposed to Nunez’s time to come into his own.
With Diogo Jota injured since the middle of October, the former Benfica man has had plenty of time to make it count now.
But having seemingly been sapped of all confidence, Jota’s return now cannot come quick enough.
There have been claims that Liverpool will look to sell Nunez if he can’t show that he is worthy of a place in the starting XI this season.
There is still plenty of time for that to happen, of course, but as of right now it is starting to look like Darwin is on borrowed time at Anfield.
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