Darwin Núñez has pledged to give his all for Liverpool until his final day at the club after Arne Slot criticized his reaction to a glaring miss in the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.
The Reds missed the chance to extend their lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, failing to secure a win for the third time in their last four matches.
Núñez had a golden opportunity to secure all three points for Liverpool but blazed the ball over the crossbar with the goal gaping, as Axel Disasi sprinted across on the cover. However, it wasn’t the miss itself that bothered Slot, but rather the striker’s reaction and attitude after the error.
“It’s more about the 20 minutes after, where I want to talk to him, rather than the miss,” Slot said, suggesting that Núñez had strayed from the basics. “The most important message is that you can miss a chance, but you can’t miss the work rate. For me, that’s the key message I want to convey because that’s the life of a striker.”
“He knows. He’s 25, he’s probably missed a few chances in his career and scored many as well. Of course, we’d prefer it to be different, but it’s part of the job as a No. 9, that sometimes you miss when people expect you to score. But it’s not part of the job of a No. 9 to then slow down in their work rate, and that’s something we’ll talk about.”
In response to his manager’s remarks, Núñez, who has been linked with a high-profile move to the Saudi Pro League, took to social media to emphasize his commitment to Liverpool.
“I wasn’t the best three weeks ago, and I’m not the worst now. If I fall, I get up. You’ll never see me give up,” the 25-year-old posted. “I’m going to give it my all until the last day I’m here in Liverpool. Resilience!”
Slot went on to state that while he would “accept every miss” from Núñez, who has netted several key goals this season, including two crucial strikes off the bench in a vital win at Brentford, he cannot accept any drop-off in his work rate.
“It’s a chance, not 100 percent that it goes in,” the Dutchman continued. “What’s harder for me to accept is his behavior after the miss. It got too much in his head. He wasn’t the usual Darwin, the one who works tirelessly and ensures he helps the team. He was too disappointed that he missed.”
