Darwin Nunez is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the moment but there is no denying the Uruguayan cares about Liverpool after his cameo against Aston Villa went awry.
Liverpool were held to a 2-2 at Villa Park on Wednesday evening as Unai Emery and his players frustrated the Reds but Liverpool will feel they threw away the chance to win the game.
Unfortunately for Darwin Nunez, he was at the centre of Liverpool’s failure to grasp the opportunity to win the game in the dying stages. After Dominik Szoboszlai squared the ball to the Uruguayan in the box to convert into an open net, Nunez got his technique all wrong and missed badly to squander the chance to win the match 3-2.
The chance immediately affect the striker’s body language as he stopped chasing and pressing with the same intensity.
But talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara came to his defence when a fan called in and suggested Nunez doesn’t care about the club.
He said: “What are you on about? He has missed a big chance and he is disappointed, I’m sure he is,” O’Hara stated. “He definitely cares, I’ve seen a video of him walking off of the pitch, head in his hands.”
Arne Slot is more worried about Darwin Nunez reaction than the miss
“I can accept every miss, especially from a player that has scored two very important goals against Brentford, that scored for us in the home game against Villa,” said Slot.
“I would prefer him to score, but the word chance says it all. It’s a chance, so it is not 100 per cent sure that the ball goes in.
“Players miss chances, that I can accept. But what was a bit harder for me to accept was his behaviour after that chance.
“With behaviour, I mean I think it got too much in his head, where he wasn’t the usual Darwin that works his ass off and makes sure he helps the team.
“I think he was too disappointed after him missing that chance and maybe, we will never know, we will never find out, that’s why he was just a fraction short the moment afterwards.
Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move to sell Darwin Nunez after bids from Saduia Arabia were rejected in the January transfer window. It doesn’t seem to be working out for him at Anfield but there is still time for him and Slot to change that.
