Arne Slot reveals when Darwin Nunez is ‘at his best’ for Liverpool

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·18 January 2025

Arne Slot reveals when Darwin Nunez is ‘at his best’ for Liverpool

Arne Slot believes that Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is at his most dangerous in the final half hour of matches, following his game-winning brace against Brentford on Saturday.

The Uruguay international doubled his Premier League tally for the season after coming off the bench, replacing Luis Diaz in the 65th minute, to snatch all three points late on at the Gtech Community Stadium.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold provided a simple pass for Nunez to break the deadlock in the 91st minute, before fellow substitute Harvey Elliott set him up for the second moments later.

Slot has struggled to get the best out of the forward, who has scored just 11 goals in the last 11 months, but feels he is more effective later on in matches when the contest gets stretched.

Read – Darwin Nunez the difference maker in ‘massive’ Liverpool win

Slot reveals when Darwin Nunez is at his best for Liverpool

“He’s always having a lot of impact when he comes in, he brings energy and power,” he told BBC Sport after the full-time whistle.

“Most of our games are the last half hour in control around 18 yards, and that’s where he’s at his best. The first hour is often open but the last 30 minutes dominant. Then to have someone like Darwin is nice to have.

Slot was relieved to see his side finally make the breakthrough after failing to find the decisive goal in draws with Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Fulham over the past month.

“During the season you’re hoping for these moments,” the Dutchman said. Many moments – we could have scored a late winner against United, Forest, Fulham. Today it worked. We managed to score in the last few seconds.

Read – Liverpool dubbed ‘best team in the world’ following Brentford win

“We were close to not getting what we deserved. The amount of chances we created was like on Tuesday against Forest – a lot. We were close to going off without a win. That combined with a late winner is what we were most happy about. And it was a significant game.”

The result ensures that Liverpool will end the weekend at least four points ahead of second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table with a game in hand, pending the outcome of the Gunners’ encounter with Aston Villa.

“I don’t only look at results,” Slot added. “We created a lot. But now it’s a win so I don’t have to say look at our performance. I was very pleased with our performance.

“Brentford made it a fight. They have good players and a good game plan. It was a nice game to watch like every time Liverpool are on the pitch.”

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