Ian Wright has expressed his disagreement with Jurgen Klopp’s decision to replace Darwin Nunez in Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League tie with Manchester City.
The 24-year-old Uruguayan began alongside Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz at Anfield and capitalised on Nathan Ake’s underhit back-pass early in the second half to earn his team a penalty, which Alexis MacAllister smashed past Ederson to cancel out Pep Guardiola’s first-half goal.
Despite the fact that the game was evenly poised, manager Jurgen Klopp substituted Nunez, who has 10 Premier League goals this season, with Gakpo in the 76th minute at Anfield. Wright disagreed with the decision because of how hardworking the Reds’ No. 9 is, even though he believes he can still improve certain aspects of his game.
Wright stated on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football: “He [Nunez] is someone I would never take off, especially at Anfield. I believe he makes runs and does things when he doesn’t get the ball, and he becomes discouraged by it, but when you look at him today and the opportunities that exist.”
When asked about Nunez’s overall performance at Anfield, the former Arsenal and England striker argued that he lacks understanding with some of his midfield teammates, citing a number of the Uruguayan’s mistimed runs in the first half.
“You see, when Mac Allister gets the ball, he’s not even looking; watch him, he makes a move, but we know Harvey Elliott is left-footed; he’s not going to be able to get that to him, and he’s making a move, and he should know he’s not going to get it right away. “He’s in a situation where he can’t receive that ball,” Wright explained.
“I think he tries to go fetch the ball sometimes, and I believe Szoboszlai can put him in. Look at him; he’s disappointed because Szoboszlai must be looking to get that ball over there. He’s ready to go again, but he appears discouraged. He’s not in the wrong phases, and they need to consider putting him in.
“He is always making runs. This is the penalty; he is going to do something for himself. He takes the penalty and keeps going, but you can see him constantly desiring the ball. When you look at him, he will want to flee, but watch him lose interest now. He’s lost interest, and now that the ball has gone, he’s not sure when he’ll retrieve it from them. This is what has to happen; they must begin looking for him.
“In my opinion, he needs to improve. You know Robertson is going to send it straight in, and I don’t think he’s moving fast enough right now; there’s enough space between him and Akanji to go closer and get a full foot on the ball, but he doesn’t have enough. He cannot go too soon in the scenario. He understands Robertson is putting that in for the first time, and he has to get closer to Akanji to get a complete touch on it, so this was a nice opportunity for him.”
Wright advised the £64 million striker, who joined Liverpool from Benfica in June 2022, saying: “I would just tighten him up in those situations and let him watch those videos and say look at this, look what you can do.” Speak with Harvey Elliott and say, “Look, when you get that ball, you don’t even have to look.” If you have the ball in that situation, put it in there. I used to tell all of the guys, “Don’t look, in there I’m going, just put it in there.”
