Arne Slot talked Darwin Nunez and another impressive Liverpool performer in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates
Arne Slot has admitted he was “surprised” by the fitness levels of Darwin Nunez after the Uruguayan completed a full 90 minutes in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal. It has been a mixed start to the campaign for the Reds’ No.9, who has so far played second fiddle to Diogo Jota under Slot.
However, after the Portugal international was forced off with an injury against Chelsea last week, Nunez was called off the bench and retained his place in the team against both RB Leipzig and Arsenal.
The striker scored the winning goal in midweek before assisting Mohamed Salah for Liverpool’s equaliser at the Emirates. But Slot has revealed it was Nunez’s energy levels that impressed him most on Sunday afternoon.
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“(His fitness) is also the reason I kept him on because if you keep on going you need to be fit enough to be competing,” the Reds boss said. “That is what almost surprised me because Darwin hasn’t played that much yet so to play three games in a row with the difficult fixtures we’ve had, away in Europe, to see how hard he worked is really pleasing.
“He had to play deep the first half but that had not so much to do with the game plan but with the quality of Arsenal in the first half because they dominated us without creating that many chances.”
Slot also heaped praise on defender Ibrahima Konate, who turned in another impressive display against the Gunners. “For me, the one who stood out was Konate,” he said.
“I think he was also very good for us today. He doesn’t always get the attention he deserves in my opinion. He’s asking to be man of the match all the time but he’s coming closer and closer to achieving that. I think he had a great performance today as well.”
Asked whether he has made any changes off the pitch to keep Konate fit this term, Slot added: “I wasn’t there last season so the only thing I know is that from the moment I was here, these players put a lot of effort in themselves to stay fit. I’ve said it many times, our performance staff and medical staff are one of the best of the world, which is normal if you are Liverpool because its one of the best clubs in the world.
“They should have a very good performance and medical staff. But the main thing is that the players buy into it because they have to do the work. They have to recover, they have to go into ice baths to be prepared in the best possible way and that’s to this moment what Ibou has done.
“The programme we have given him has maybe helped him a bit as well but in the end it’s always about the players. They have to make the effort to stay available.”
