Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp not concerned by Darwin Nunez’s finishing

LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he is relaxed about Darwin Nunez’s finishing after the Uruguayan striker missed an open goal, as they maintained a perfect record in the Europa League this season with a 5-1 win over Ligue 1’s Toulouse.

The 24-year-old, who moved to the English Premier League club from Portuguese side Benfica for an initial fee of £64 million (S$106.3 million) in June 2022, missed the chance to score his second goal of the night on Thursday against Toulouse, but put on a complete performance at Anfield.

Having netted in the first half, Nunez helped Liverpool move five points clear at the top of Group E. Diogo Jota, Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah were also on the scoresheet.

“He played incredible. Honestly, in this moment, I couldn’t care less that he hits the post in that moment because everything before was super convincing, was absolutely clear,” said Klopp.

“How he took the defender away, how he passed the goalie, it was a perfect situation... He’s a happy boy or man in the moment and you can see that every day. And now we have to make sure that it stays like that.”

The German also said there was a lot more to come from midfielder Gravenberch, who slotted into the corner moments after Nunez’s miss. It was the Dutchman’s first back-to-back starts in 18 months, having joined from Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day in September.

“I really like him as a boy and as a player, and it’s really nice to see how much he starts believing in himself again. That’s obviously very important for a young player especially,” Klopp said of the 21-year-old.

When asked what he has made of Liverpool this season, Klopp said: “I think it’s really easy to fall in love with this team because it (has) so much excitement in it.

“How the team interacts with each other is really nice because when you talk about the rebuild of a team then it is all about the things you see on the pitch, obviously. But to see that, there must be a rebuild off the pitch as well – and that’s going really well.”

Fourth in the Premier League, Liverpool are three points off the top of the table and next host Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Brighton & Hove Albion snapped a five-game winless streak in all competitions by beating Ajax Amsterdam 2-0. With four points, Brighton are third in Group B, which includes leaders Marseille (five) and second-place AEK Athens (four).

Olympiakos beat Europa Conference League holders West Ham United 2-1 in Group A to end the visitors’ 17-match unbeaten run in Europe. The Hammers remain top, level on six points with Freiburg, who beat Backa Topola 3-1 away.

In the Europa Conference League, Aston Villa eased to a 4-1 win at Dutch side AZ Alkmaar to move level on six points with Group E leaders Legia Warsaw. REUTERS, AFP