Klopp says Darwin Nunez has 'made massive steps'

Darwin Nunez has made massive steps in his Liverpool career and his much-criticised defensive work is the reason for his growing chances in the Reds starting XI, says Jurgen Klopp.

The Uruguayan was critiqued in his first season on these shores by rival fans, with his manager saying that defensive dirty work was Nunez’s ‘ticket’ to the first team. The striker scored a goal to put Liverpool back ahead in a tricky match against West Ham on Sunday.

Mo Salah and Diogo Jota scored but it was Nunez who Klopp singled out for praise. ‘He has made massive steps in the last few weeks,’ said the German. ‘He is a threat. You all saw the goal, that was probably pretty good, right? That was really strong.

‘He was always available, it’s super important for us now that we have a ball player, chip the ball get it on the chest and play from there, that’s how we scored the third goal at Wolves, super important for us.

‘The defensive work he puts in is probably the main difference. He always wanted (to do it) but it was less co-ordinated. Now that looks much better.

‘We have found a way to do it around him, Curtis (Jones) and Dom (Szoboszlai) help a lot, how flexible they are in that way. It’s really good, absolutely.’

Klopp added that it was a difficult game but he was pleased by his side’s reaction. ‘As expected, it was a difficult game,’ he said. ‘Very good moments in the first half but we were not enough in control to deny them completely. We played well in different phases. Lost some balls we shouldn’t have.

‘When they scored I was not completely surprised. We could’ve defended it better. Most importantly we stayed in the game and gave them a proper challenge, caused some problems and scored a super goal. I can’t wait to see it properly