Liverpool: Darwin Nunez clip from Uruguay training cruelly goes viral | OneFootball

Darwin Nunez has received more than his fair share of criticism since joining Liverpool in the summer.

The fact he was signed for a club-record £85 million fee wasn’t his fault, but it was always going to pile huge pressure on his shoulders to hit the ground running.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp kept things in perspective when Nunez was already being mocked by rival fans on social media after just 75 minutes of pre-season action.

“I’m not worried at all,” Klopp told ESPN after his side suffered a 4-0 defeat against rivals Manchester United. “The general judgement [on Nunez] is absolutely nil interest [to us]. It will be like this, and we all know it.

“It’s kind of a game or a joke for some people to pick out some situations where a player’s not doing well. That’s only a game from [fans of] other clubs, which is normal. Our fans probably do [the same] with signings of Manchester United. We cannot take this seriously.”

Nunez went on to score against Manchester City in the Community Shield and again a week later against Fulham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

But he let himself down in the following match with a headbutt against Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen, resulting in a three-match suspension.

In six appearances for the Reds so far, Nunez has scored two goals.

He was being compared to Erling Haaland prior to the start of the campaign, but the formidable Norwegian centre-forward already has a remarkable 14 goals in 10 games for Man City.

Klopp will be hoping that Nunez can rediscover some form and confidence with Uruguay, who face Iran and Canada during the current international break, before returning to Anfield.

But one clip – filmed by someone on the touchline – has gone viral on social media, with rival fans once again having fun at Nunez’s expense.

You can imagine the reaction. Within eight hours, one tweet had already amassed over 5,000 retweets, been ‘liked’ 39,000 times and attracted thousands of comments.

Of course it was a poor attempted cross but many other top players have surely done the same – and, indeed, worse – in training sessions.

What matters is what Nunez does on the pitch during competitive matches.

We saw his qualities in a Benfica shirt and there’s no reason why the 23-year-old won’t replicate those performances for Liverpool and Uruguay over the coming months.

Those writing him off already may eventually end up eating their words.

‘World class Haaland’ (Football Terrace)