Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez scored two stoppage time goals in his side's 2-0 win over Brentford - and the feelings of the Reds' dressing room towards the Uruguayan has been revealed.
Liverpool found Brentford a difficult nut to crack at the Gtech Community Stadium but Nunez came off the bench to bag two late goals and three vital points in the title race.
The Uruguay international hasn't been as prolific in England as his Benfica record and transfer fee suggested, but his contributions extend far beyond just putting the ball in the net.
Arne Slot praised Nunez's energy in his comments after the Reds' late win in London and Harvey Elliott has expanded on his manager's sentiment by revealing Nunez's popularity in the Liverpool dressing room.
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"Everyone has so much love for one another. We’re not a team, we’re a family and whoever scores, whoever is playing, whoever is not playing, we’re all together as one and we want to do everything for the club," Elliott told Liverpool.com after the match.
"We have high ambitions this season and we all need to play a part, but as I said, whoever scores, it’s just an amazing feeling as a team. Celebrating with not only your teammates but your friends, people that you’re close with, it’s just great," continued the 21-year-old.
"He’s [Nunez] a great guy and his hunger and desire on the pitch, you can’t fault him – as you can see in each and every game."
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Nunez signed for Liverpool in 2022 after a high-scoring season in Lisbon and has scored 24 Premier League goals. While that appears a perfectly adequate contribution, the weight of his status as the Reds' record signing sits uncomfortably with the number of chances he needs to score in some games, not to mention an unfortunate habit of missing when he might be expected to score.
His stellar season at Benfica was an outlier in terms of Nunez's goals per shot ratio. He is just the type of striker who misses a few shots but continues to put himself in scoring positions time and again.
That's the sort of endeavour and attitude admired by team-mates and likely to generate scenes of elation when he does score, which isn't all that rare despite his unfair and wholly exaggerated reputation.
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If Slot and Elliott's comments are anything to go by, Nunez brings much more to the squad than that.
Topics: Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott, Liverpool, Champions League
Chris Nee