Here is your Liverpool morning digest for Sunday, February 19.
Jurgen Klopp makes Darwin Nunez injury admission
Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Darwin Nunez needs further assessment after being forced off with a shoulder injury in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United.
The Uruguayan opened the scoring for the Reds early on, finishing well from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s lofted pass forward. But he was forced off just before the hour-mark after landing awkwardly on his shoulder despite initially trying to play on.
Liverpool are next in action at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League round-of-16 on Tuesday night, before travelling to Crystal Palace next Saturday.
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And speaking to reporters after the final whistle, Klopp admitted that the striker is injury doubt after the painful blow.
“The bad news is Darwin has something on his shoulder,” the German told reporters. “We will see. In that situation, I don’t know what he whistled at to be honest, against him.”
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Darwin Nunez has found his best position at Liverpool
When Liverpool first lost Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota to long-term injury back in October, Jurgen Klopp initially alternated between different formations and different players on the left without much luck as the Reds’ inconsistency continued.
Out of desperation, he turned to Darwin Nunez come November with the former Benfica man rewarding such a decision with an assist away at Spurs before scoring a brace at home to Southampton in Liverpool’s final game before the 2022 World Cup.
At the time, the decision to play the Uruguayan there was just a stop-gap. After all, the £64m man had been signed as a striker while Diaz was poised to return in time for the Premier League restart, with Jota not too far behind. But then the Colombian was forced to undergo knee surgery and the Reds found themselves left short in attack.
Klopp responded by signing Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in January, bringing in the left-winger for an initial £37m. And while it presented questions about who would start once all of Liverpool’s options were fit again, the Dutchman’s arrival at least suggested that Nunez’s time on the left was over.
But while he would indeed return to a central berth following the restart, as well as initially following Gakpo’s arrival, in recent weeks, despite raised eyebrows, Klopp has had other ideas. Unleashing a new-look triumvirate with the Dutchman now central and Nunez out on the left alongside Mohamed Salah, Liverpool are starting to see a method in the madness.
Against Everton, it was the Uruguayan’s blistering pace down the left that set up Salah’s opening goal, with the forward causing constant problems when carrying the ball forward and cutting inside. In truth, the only thing his performance lacked was a goal, as he saw both his fellow forwards score with Gakpo also opening his account for the club.
Clearly not wanting a repeat, it would take Nunez just 10 minutes to score against Newcastle on Saturday evening. Bringing down Trent Alexander-Arnold’s chipped ball forward, he brought it down well before rifling home an unstoppable strike.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
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