While Darwin Nunez continues to find it challenging to fit into Arne Slot’s system at Liverpool, the head coach has taken responsibility for the team’s struggles in front of goal.
Nunez made his third start of the season in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Bologna, but was substituted after just an hour, with Slot appearing visibly frustrated in the technical area.
This was the earliest the Uruguayan has been taken off in any of his outings under the new head coach, highlighting that Diogo Jota remains the preferred choice in the attacking lineup.
This situation has reignited discussions about Darwin Nunez, who has struggled for consistency since his £85 million transfer from Benfica.
However, during his pre-Crystal Palace press conference, Slot redirected the focus onto himself and his coaching staff, emphasising their commitment to helping the strikers improve their goal-scoring contributions.
“It’s both,” he said.
“I think it’s the challenge we as a staff always have, to bring the best out of individuals.
“We try to find different ways of positioning Darwin than Diogo, because they are not the same players.
“So their teammates also adjust to the player they are playing with.
“That’s what I as a manager have to do and what we are doing.
“Yes, he didn’t score in his last game, because he was offside as well.
“So when we bring him the chances he’s able to score, but unfortunately we couldn’t bring him that much in the position we want to.
“If I’m completely honest, which I like to be, even Diogo didn’t have [enough goals].
“I think most of the goals we’ve scored have come from our wingers until now and Diogo scored two when we played West Ham – and then he played the No. 10 position.
“So maybe it’s also something for us to look at, although we score a lot of goals, to bring our striker – if it’s Diogo or Darwin – even more in positions to score.”
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