‘If you could see him finishing in training’ - Klopp not worried by Nunez drought

Liverpool's £85million striker Darwin Nunez failed to fire against Rangers.Liverpool's £85million striker Darwin Nunez failed to fire against Rangers.
Liverpool's £85million striker Darwin Nunez failed to fire against Rangers.
Darwin Nunez has failed to score since the opening day of the Premier League season but his manager is calm about his prospects.

Jurgen Klopp is convinced Darwin Nunez will soon bring the deadly finishing skills he regularly shows in training to Liverpool matches.

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The Uruguayan is without a goal for the Reds since opening his Premier League account in a 2-2 draw at Fulham on the opening day.

He has gone frustratingly close on a number of occasions, several of which came when Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor put on a masterclass in Tuesday's Champions League meeting between the sides.

However, Klopp is adamant that the goals will come soon enough thanks to the evidence he has seen on the Kirkby training pitches.

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He said: “I think he said himself, he feels the pressure, these kind of things. He needs to calm himself down, but his movements are exceptional.

"If you could see him finishing in training, you’d think ‘Oh my God!’.

“In the games, he’s in a bit of a rush and he just needs to calm down in those moments and use his full range of finishing.

“Not to change, just to keep going.”

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Nunez admitted in an interview earlier this week that his inability to speak English has left unable to "understand anything" his manager says, including tactical instructions.

But Klopp does not expect that to prove to be a long-term barrier to success at Anfield and insists Liverpool's mixed form is likelier to hurt the striker.

“The headline was he doesn’t understand a word I’m saying, I know that. That was the same with Bobby Firmino and other players.

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“Maybe a big part of Bobby’s success was he didn’t understand a word I said because he did everything right without understanding!

“For Darwin, it’s slightly different. He gets all the necessary information obviously. We have Spanish speakers on the coaching staff and the team. I understand why you ask that, but I would say it’s all fine.

“It was not a perfect start. He has a three-game suspension and you can’t get rid of that.

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“He’s an aggressive player, he’s emotional and it should never happen again.

“But I really like his movements, they are really good and natural. That’s something we didn’t have before. That’s what I like and why I’m sure everything will be fine.

“What is the worst situation when you come in as a striker? That your team is not playing exceptionally well because you depend on the things they bring to you.

“We need to perform consistently to our level and beyond and then you need a striker to finish off all the things we create.”

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