'The challenge...' - Arne Slot outlines Liverpool's plan to improve Darwin Nunez after difficult start

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has opened up on how Darwin Nunez can improve after a mixed beginning to life post-Jurgen Klopp.

A new manager brings a new style and it has seen the Dutchman favour Diogo Jota in the majority of games so far, with Nunez starting just once in the league. With more of a controlled tactical system in place, the Uruguayan’s chaos football approach is less applicable while Jota is more of an effective fit.

Klopp championed Nunez and allowed him to thrive by giving him license to roam, often popping up on the left wing. It saw him improve in terms of his output from his first year to his second, racking up 18 goals and 13 assists in his second season. Asked whether the team and his staff need to adapt to his style of play, Slot revealed the ‘challenge’ that lies with Nunez. “It’s both. I think it is the challenge that we as a staff always have to bring the best out of the individuals so we try to find different ways to position Darwin rather than Diogo.

“Their team-mates also adjust to the player. That’s also what I as a manager have to do and what we are doing. Yes, didn't score in last game as offside, when we bring him chances he's able to score but we couldn't get him into positions we want to. Most of our goals have come from our wingers so maybe it’s also for us to bring our striker into positions to score”

As he mentioned, both Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah have led the way this season, netting five and six goals respectively in all competitions. The latest from Salah came against Bologna during the week as he fired an unstoppable strike into the corner after cutting inside. So far, the system has seen the wingers - or inside forwards - find themselves in goal scoring positions more often than the attackers.

Jota has missed three big chances in the league so far, averaging 2.2 shots per game and his goal conversion sits at just 9%. In comparison to Salah, he’s also missed three big chances but has averaged 3.3 shots per game and has a conversion rate of 20%.

Whereas Diaz has been the most potent with a conversion rate of 36% with 2.3 shots per game and big overperformance in terms of his expected goals with five scored from an xG of 2.62.

For Nunez, he has barely featured enough to draw anything from his performances so far. He netted an offside goal against Bologna after showing good movement but in his only full 90 minutes against West Ham United in the EFL Cup, he managed no shots at all but did provide one assist. What we have seen so far is clear evidence that Slot and Nunez are working out how best to work together.