Jurgen Klopp has detailed the changes that allowed Darwin Nunes to flourish at Liverpool earlier this season.
The Uruguayan will be fit for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Luton Town. He has scored or assisted in each of his last five games in all competitions, including the Carabao Cup away goal against AFC Bournemouth. The 24-year-old has scored seven goals this season after scoring 15 goals in his debut season on Merseyside.
In an interview with reporters ahead of the trip to Luton, Klopp explained why the No.9 has begun to change.
The boss should have said that…Nunez is in every corner of Bournemouth
As far as using Nunez as a striker this season…
Darwin is number 9. He can also play on the wing and it depends on how we want to work with the opposition, where the space is and if we can open up all his possibilities.
The problem is that last year, especially when things went wrong, it was very important to get everything set up right and we needed the #9 to completely protect the center in a way that Darwin couldn’t do at the time. . . Now he can.
We’re preparing differently now, with a different level of confidence, something we’ve gotten used to throughout the pre-season. Right now we have to play centrally when our defense is stable. This is to make sure we are compact, but we don’t have to evaluate all the different options the other side may have.
We got used to Bobby [Firmino], Cody [Gakpo] came in really well and suddenly the first thing Darwin did was extend the line-up and stay there. The team needed consistency [last season].
Nunez’s confidence has grown this season.This is the secret to living as a striker. It gets easier because you have more goals. He misses his chances all the time, but missing the first five chances before scoring is not good. Now he started the season well and scored some fantastic goals, then another and another. Another moment. Has Nunes made this team more interesting than before?This is new.
It’s unfair [compared to the previous team]. We had a team capable of winning the Champions League and the Premier League twice more. Not “must”, but “could”.
People want change on their own time and don’t want to change if they don’t have to. And people say, “Hey, why did we change?”
They say, but the time has come. They are all good, from the oldest midfielder in the league to the youngest midfielder in the league. The players we bring in are all high quality and diverse. [Alexis Mac Allister] is another six of Fab [Fabinho]. Ryan [Gravenbirch], Dom [Szoboszlai] and even Wataru [Endo] are different.
The most important thing is that we can train together for a long time and we are stable. The most important thing is not to give up and not to give up. This is where trust is built. Then you can insult and everything will be fine.
You don’t have to mark every opportunity as a team. I like that team. It’s really cool and nice to work together. Yes, it has potential. Now we have to work together to make sure we do it with quality, consistent quality.
