Liverpool manager Arne Slot has thrown his support behind striker Darwin Nunez after criticism of his goals ahead of their match against Fulham on Saturday.
Nunez has scored three goals in all competitions for Liverpool so far this season. He last found the back of the net last month in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The Uruguayan has also missed three big chances for the Reds in the top flight this season, with only Diogo Jota (five) and Mohamed Salah (nine) squandering more.
In Tuesday's 1-0 win over Girona in the Champions League, Nunez registered the joint-most shots on target (two) but cut a frustrated figure at the full-time whistle.
However, Slot believes his number nine has contributed to his side's good start to the season in other ways and will not judge him solely on his goals.
“For me he has an impact. If you just look at goals, he hasn't scored as much as he wants, or we want a number nine to score,” Slot told a press conference.
“But he does influence his work rate and that is not only to prevent the other team from having a chance, but also to allow us, if we lose the ball, to be aggressive, get the ball back and create opportunities to create.” .
“He's part of a team that scores a lot of goals and wins a lot, but as a number nine you naturally want to score more goals. That's definitely what he wants.”
Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota could return to the Liverpool squad this weekend
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“I don't just condemn Mo [Salah] or Darwin on goals, I also judge on their work rate and what they bring to the team. That has been positive so far, except that we and he wanted to score more goals,” said Slot.
“Maybe because the fans support him so much, he wants it almost too much, to score that goal for the fans and for himself. All the players feel the support of our fans, but he is certainly one of them.”
Slot, meanwhile, confirmed that Jota could be available for selection at the end of October after a rib injury, while Federico Chiesa could be in the squad for Fulham after playing just 18 minutes since joining the club.
'I think so [available]”We still have one more training session to go,” said Slot. 'Federico has missed quite a bit. We have to see it. Maybe Diogo will be in the selection, maybe Federico too, but that depends on the numbers we have.”
“What him [Chiesa] needs is playtime. When you haven't played for five or six months it's sometimes difficult for a manager to give him those minutes because you don't know what to expect. Perhaps the match against Southampton would be a good match to get him minutes.
“He needs to get his fitness up to standard, he needs playing time. But it is not always easy to find these minutes.”
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