Liverpool boss Slott issues ‘challenge’ to striker to outshine ‘big group’ of players

Liverpool manager Arne Slott has urged Darwin Nunez to join the “five, six or seven” players in the world who are “extraordinary” every time they play.

Striker Nunez returned from suspension to score his first goals in eight Premier League games on Saturday, scoring twice in second-half added time as the leaders won 2-0 at Brentford.

“The hardest thing in football, for a team and an individual, is to find consistency,” Slott said. “Only a few players in the world can be at the same level every three days.

“There is a big, big group of players who are capable of playing well many times, but not every time. He is one of those players who belongs to a group that is good many, many, many times.

“But the next step for him – it would be nice – is to go to a group of five, six, seven players in the world who are outstanding every three days.

“We have players who are of a very high standard every three days. It is a nice challenge for him to join that group. He’s probably in a good place now, because he scored two.”

Statistics by Darwin Nunez

The 25-year-old has started 14 of Slott’s 30 games in all competitions in the Netherlands’ first season in charge, although the Uruguay international has been on the bench for 11 of the 19 top-flight matches for which he has been available.

Mohamed Salah has 21 goals this season, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz 12 each, Diogo Jota eight and Nunez six.

Along with defenseman Joe Gomez, Slott believes Jota will be out for weeks, not months, with a muscle injury, which could give Nunez more minutes in his absence.

Liverpool vs Lille

Liverpool host Lille in a Champions League penultimate match on Tuesday (20:00 GMT), when Nunez will be hoping to continue his run of appearances in all of their European games so far this season.

The French have achieved significant wins over Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, but they are five points behind the Reds, who are the only team with a perfect record from six games.

“They’ve been unlucky with their fixtures and that’s why I’m so impressed,” Slott said of the Ligue 1 third-placed opponents.

“They faced Sporting (a 2-0 away defeat) while Ruben Amorim was still (manager) there and it was impossible to beat Sporting.

“They faced Juventus (1-1 home draw), Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and now they face us and my former club, Feyenoord.”

Champions League: Liverpool lead

Slot cited Paris Saint-Germain’s current position in the knockout places as evidence that finishing high in the new 36-team single-table format may not make the knockout draw favorable.

“You think number one (in the table) is the best position to finish in, but being on top might not tell you you’re the best team,” he said.

“A lot of it has to do with the teams you’ve faced. We want to win, but not out of the idea that it will give us the best (path through) the rest of the campaign.”