It feels like Darwin Nunez is UNHAPPY on the bench for Liverpool - Steve Nicol | ESPN FC

[@0fwRs]

Safe to say any football player on the bench isnt happy, thanks for enlightening us.

[@xxxkobsanity]

facts. 😂😂😂😂

[@smoothmovenyc7992]

lol word, these fools trying to cook up drama after 1 league game, when he only came back to training recently, elliot jones didnt start either, big deal they'll all have their time to shine

[@MrBaronCabron]

was going to say the same thing. it's such a nothing-burger, and i'm a Man United fan. no one wants to be on the bench.

[@BruceJackson-lx2dw]

Jurgen didn't treat Darwin well. Either play him or sell him to a club which will appreciate his undoubted talents. Darwin: lot's of LFC supporters wish you all the very best amigo.

[@Alien_Cuts]

@@BruceJackson-lx2dw Darwin wants you to know that he read your youtube comment, and he wants to thank you, and ask you for a cup of tea with your little pinky pointed to the sky while you're drinking it

[@martinquinn3709]

If he was happy on the bench, you’d say he doesn’t care and is on his way out

[@pornsucks]

It would be great if he was on his way out

[@NikitaShershakov]

journalists are such jokers)

[@godwinngoya7204]

How is the headline about Darwin... when we played brilliant 2nd half and and salah broke another record

[@ags911]

Because the title gets clicks for them.

[@treyjohnson23]

Try using your brain

[@ivan_7076]

I mean new coach . Didn’t play Darwin who was a huge transfer gets clicks

[@HabitualLine-Stepper]

@godwinngoya7204 "We played brilliant..." Liverpool, they, the team...but not 'we'...

[@aizen9139]

Bc he GOAT

[@SidneyXda]

F you on about Nicol, pre seasons games against Arsenal, Man U,Seville you can see what Slot is trying to get the players to do. It’s keeping possession when won after a press, not rush into losing the ball again, regaining energy. Also he wants them to go with the long ball when teams press Liverpool defence, with quick one two incisive moves and up to the opposition keeper.

[@Rain188]

LFC fan here, I don’t care who is happy or UNHAPPY! We won and that is enough. I remember when we drew 2-2 with Fulham away first game of season and when we drew 1-1 away with Luton. Wining first game away is good 👍🏻

[@Patrick-uh8xj]

All because of Nunez can't score

[@caraxes6533]

He will ​@@Patrick-uh8xj

[@mannygonzalez4178]

Lmao. And the don’t care about you either. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@zailkhalsa5261]

Once again true Liverpool fans will only start worrying when ESPN and Stevie say something positive about the Reds.

[@Honcho1217]

Even than I’m less worried

[@derekblack9244]

What

[@mahlatserikhotso5468]

Darwin Nunez is my favourite Liverpool player

[@imranarshad2961]

These guys clearly did not listen to the TNT interview, Slot said they showed them at half-time when a team is playing 1v1, like Ipswich were, don't constantly play it short when you have wingers and attackers play them in but they must then fight for it. It's a myth that all he wants to do is have his players play short just because he said kill them with passing in training once, he has shown he is more flexible than that and is prepared to tell the players to also play longer when the opportunity is right. It's the first game of the season, Darwin was one of the late ones coming back so he's had hardly any football so maybe he's not fit enough yet who knows but bit early to be saying he's unhappy.

[@redroish]

the sad part is these guys couldnt figure that out themselves. Pundits!

[@kebbizdrammeh6659]

Salah dominate the premier league consistently over and over , yet they ignore him 🙄 imagine if Salah is English 😅

[@HiphopMania2023]

No is ignoring him he's just good u expect to perform so u won't be surprised if he has a goal and 2 assists in 1 match cos thts his normal standard its what he must do❤

[@Karmatashii]

Quansah was losing duels and got subbed at half-time, Kloppo would've never done that infact he would've let him play for the full 90 and subbed some other player instead if he did use his subs. People are expecting Lfc trajectory to go down after the manager change but I think its looking onwards and upwards for us under Slott.

[@kriptoprof.3345]

He would have subbed Szobo or Macca or both to appear as a game changer, starting all those cute stories for a week.

[@kwamesilvester9938]

Exactly .. I remember the Man U game , he was already losing 1v1s and duels n in the second half gave the ball away for Bruno to look like a superstar.. had they removed him who knows about the league .. he cost us at least 5 points overall

[@marlonblade007]

You beat Ipswich. Relax.

[@Tiz3a]

Jota is super underrated and undervalued. Everytime he plays he scores or has an impact. Nunez shouldnt be complaining when somebody like Jota who’s been on the bench for ages takes his place.

[@scouser8]

I expected Nicol as a former professional to not have such a lazy take on Nunez. Jota when fit, is arguably the best finisher in the league. He certainly is at the club. Nunez came back to training barely a week ago. Why on God’s earth would/should Nunez be expected to start over the Portuguese striker?

[@harrygregg9551]

Best finisher in the league 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@shuaibdaniels5618]

maybe not the best but yes in the top 3 with haaland most of the time, isak/Watkins, and jota

[@scouser8]

@@harrygregg9551I can't argue with emojis fella. Name me a more natural finisher in the Premier League at the moment.

[@scouser8]

@@shuaibdaniels5618Haaland scores more goals, just like Salah does but Jota is a better natural finisher than both of them.

[@smirkfella4548]

1 game in. 1 win. Arne has a good squad. Who cares if Darwin is unhappy. Us Liverpool fans are on our journey. He's apart of it or not

[@Gaeul-j3j]

When he leaves you will care because there will be no backup 🤡

[@P1984-z5i]

Liverpool have an amazing squad when nobody is injured. Jota is amazing but has a terrible injury record. The key to Slot being a success is how he manages injuries and if his style of play causes injuries. As amazing as Klopp was his one flaw is that the high pressing game cause lot of injuries ,it will be interesting to see if Slot can manage this better

[@reflexionperfexion1482]

So much for "you'll never walk alone" garbage!

[@space亗]

Gakpo is there lol liverpool dont need flopnez 😭 ​@@Gaeul-j3j

[@JR-sj1jz]

“Style of play has been with my teams where I worked, I think, always the same, there are a lot of similarities with Jürgen Klopp, with the way they played in the past, and I’m hoping we will see these similarities in the upcoming weeks and months." "But it sometimes also depends a bit on the players you have. I think we’re trying to find the balance between trying to create chaos at certain moments and trying to keep possession of the ball a bit longer in other moments" - Arne Slot Of course there were elements of Klopp in the style of play. The coach himself has said on more than one occasion now that we will see similarities in some things. Especially now because the likes of Trent, Mac Allister, Van Dijk etc only played one friendly as they arrived back less than weeks ago. I expected Moreno and Stevie to spout nonsense but a bit disappointed in Jules doing the same. He tends to be on top of such things. Also funny how they mentioned Nunez being unhappy but completely missed that Gomez didn't even make the bench.

[@markhand4530]

thank you klopp for bringing us great players into our team and thanks to edwards for finding the best coach to work with them.

[@migez1]

Stevie is right tho. Fit Jota over Nunez all day long. Darwin needs to have a long look at himself.

[@sdm_za]

Nunez best performances have come from the left, and Diaz can be very frustrating

[@ninjay2k317]

@@sdm_za Nunez can be even more frustrating tbh

[@demri123]

He's better than Diaz though

[@lailaadler.4617]

​@@ninjay2k317 That’s not true. There’s no one more frustrating than Luis Díaz. Darwin needs to work on his finishing and his temperament (I think he’s still a bit immature), sure, but he’s someone who has positively contributed a lot to the team’s play. Last season, for example, he provided plenty of assists and showed up in crucial matches with goals, like against Newcastle or Nottingham Forest. What has Luis Díaz done in the last two seasons? Since that Champions League match against Villarreal years ago, he’s done nothing. Just missing goals and staying irrelevant to the team. And he’s played plenty of minutes.

[@disagiato9391]

​@@ninjay2k317 still more Dangerous on the Wing than Diaz. Diaz has 0 impact on the game. There Is no point in dribbling 3 players and shoot the sky

[@derekmain9914]

Why is not the headline joe Gomez unhappy but Nunez suits the narrative

[@dman9152]

Negative Nicol should be his name.

[@ombreleather]

They played this way for most of last season as well. I remember many games last year where they turned it on 2nd half either through subs or starters they found their legs and touch. Darwin coming on late and scoring two in 5 minutes pulling Liverpool out of the fire against Newcastle I believe. I don’t like the slow starts but it seems these players never panic and they know they can grab a win usually.

[@ultraauditors2526]

Nunez is resting. Relax...

[@ivan_7076]

Resting from what? If copa America then why not rest Mac alister who had a less rest

[@Youisnothim]

@@ivan_7076I don’t think it has anything to do with resting. It’s probably because he didn’t play much in preseason while jota played the whole preseason and was in form.

[@trapboost4841]

Nunez won’t start very often if jota stays fit and consistent. But jota is injury prone and sometimes goes ghost in games, so Nunez will surely get his chances too.

[@faridirwan7610]

@@trapboost4841 klopp really bought 100m flop from benfica

[@caraxes6533]

​@@faridirwan761064m genius, and he's good for us. Love your tears by the way, we have 5 amazing attackers and 3 or 4 upcoming academy talent, but keep crying

[@BhajanMan]

Playing away at 12:30 has always been a potential banana skin for Liverpool, and BT knows it well. Huge applause for Gravenberch, who stepped up brilliantly as the second pivot alongside Mac Allister. Steve Nicol on Nunez is just pure lazy, Nunez came back late from Copa America and not up to speed

[@kurze3215]

Jota’s goal was the type of opportunity Nunez has missed and ended up dropping points

[@reflexionperfexion1482]

He was also tied for second in game winning goals last season. Imagine how many points he saved you losers!

[@kurze3215]

@@reflexionperfexion1482 Do you honestly have any clue about football or Liverpool what so ever?

[@mrr9395]

It's the first game you can't expect everyone should be up to speed and sharpness

[@tomlfc56]

Stevie’s spot on. If Diogo keeps scoring (he should have had at least a second) then Nunez won’t get a look in. It was telling that Slott bought Gakpo on, Nunez must feel he’s down on the pecking order. That’s the game.

[@MwataBeia]

It’s common sense. All players make sacrifices everyday to be able to contribute in games. Seating on the bench is not any player’s aim or desire. This is not a topic to be discussed or make a big deal out of it. Please don’t pundits.

[@jamesdonnell2290]

First game of the season, cmon what do you expect?!!.. The Reds didn't get out of 3rd gear and didn't have to,.. 3 points All that matters and a clean sheet. Take that every game... they'll improve... LONGGGGGG Season Nunez's time will come

[@II-hx9tw]

ESPN FC should be headquartered in America. The bias on this show would never be accepted abroad. You’d be ridiculed Steve and Craig for denigrating Man Utd deliberately and predictably. It’s not journalism but coddling executives bollocks in your mouths for money. Sad.

[@ericthekop9624]

Slot. ❤❤❤

[@tobaepebinuade5830]

In that 2nd half, Liverpool were standing on their business against Ipswich Town today and showed them what the premier league is all about. Due to the fact that they were playing against a newly promoted team, it was inevitable for them to win the game later on and the less said about their first half performance the better. We have to give them credit for how they played in the 1st half because they weren’t able to play their game and they couldn’t create any meaningful chances, in the 2nd half, they had no answer for Liverpool because some of the football they played was slick they were regularly breaking down their defense and took the chances that they created. First game under Arne Slot it was a win and assuming they play the way they did in the 2nd half and replicate that every game for 90 minutes, they’re going to be a fun team to watch and despite the plethora of talent they have, we’re not really taking them seriously in the title race, when I watch this team and the football they play, if Liverpool can add a couple of signings before the transfer window is over which is what I expect them to do, we’re going to see an even strong version of them and you can throw them in the mix for the title. On a given day, they would’ve scored more than 2 goals. We saw signs of them playing the way they did when Jurgen Klopp was their manager, when they have possession they play at a faster rate and Liverpool have the potential to cause other teams in the premier league problems when everything clicks.

[@bigmol1633]

Would like to see nunez on the left instead of diaz

[@davidlow5934]

Shock horror a first team player is unhappy about not get minutes on the pitch. Would be more worried if the lad wasnt bothered tbh. Outstanding analysis once again from this lot

[@onochieosaji9427]

These clickbait titles are pathetic, you lot are trying hard, really hard to drive false narratives, shame on you lot. And by the way, Slot never said he's coming to make wholesome changes to Klopp's style of play, but only to compliment it with better possession. Maybe you lot need to watch more press conferences before dropping opinions, this applies especially to Jules since he claims to be a sports journalist.

[@zimbalisigqibo7544]

What a headline But then it's ESPN

[@muhams82]

1 game steve. First game of the season 🤣🤣

[@Ninoy2059]

I saw the same old Liverpool play. There was nothing to say "OH" that was new thing. It is hard to judge on "Slot" presence this early in the game.

[@anuph.3806]

I love Nunez and I hope he gets minutes against teams that we put aside in the first half cus he needs confidence back and at some point we will need to rly on him, the season is long and filled with games every few days, hope he can find his mojo, we need the Nunez from the few games after his Newcastle heroics when he would just run rampant. He has it in him, look at his Uruguay performance.

[@davespeedy5365]

Nunez has had no pre season- it’s called player management

[@ghettablkgffb]

Wait how did nunez become the headlines. Great play from liverpool 2nd half

[@ragecandy]

the way they find a way to dig at Utd even when talking about a completely unrelated game lmao

[@O_tropos]

These guys really need to watch what Slot said in his post match press. He literally said play the ball long if they keep pressing and play 1v 1😅. But no instead of watching they go and speculate is this what Slot wanted. Well answer is yes. Once they back off of the 1v1 they can play the ball around more.

[@JPayne95]

Its literally a win win, slot gets more time imprinting his tactics on to nunez while jota is fit and nunez gets a extended break after the copa america drama aswell as a tough year at Liverpool where hed been told that the man who signed him decided to leave midway through a season.

[@SAAmanat]

Season started and only two five minutes videos of EPL? Is this how it’s going to go this season with ESPN - a 15 minutes interview with la liga and 5-10 minutes of everything else?

[@ADAJ3KINGANGEL]

Espn really know how to make a negative story out of everything

[@Esco-lq4rb]

To answer Stevie's question, yes, Slot is possession based but has a lot of quick transition attacks at Feyenoord

[@mosestsarai8565]

It's the freaking 12:30 kick-off!! We always struggle in the 1st half of these early kick-offs! The fixtures' office is having a laugh already!

[@Seids_89]

Brilliant analysis, player is unhappy he is on the bench 🤣

[@mdavidtv]

Analyzing game tactics ❌️ Discussing Vibes and feelings ✅️

[@anandpaulraj8094]

His influence has rubbed off on Diaz with the spectacular miss!!😂

[@demri123]

Diaz is terrible

[@imancute5887]

How about Endo,Jones and Elliott?all of them spent the most time in preseason friendly but never get a chance in the match..they are also unhappy??

[@bobpadok5331]

Liverpool is 25 players team..from september they will play twice a week till may...it mean everyone will be involved...

[@faridirwan7610]

you paid 100m for nunez

[@efun8334]

@@faridirwan7610yeah probably going to be Klopp’s worst signing

[@fatoomgierdien110]

I agree with Jules...the goals came about when the team reverted to Klopp,s style❤🎉YNWA

[@graeme7twice]

It was clear how different liverpool played, if you watched the game.

[@Esco-lq4rb]

So I know Klopp is more direct and vertical than Pep but they still had high possession numbers during his time at Liverpool

[@robertlafontaine6267]

The team comes first. Darwin understands that. He will have plenty of games to show what he can do.

[@sf5912]

Slot said after the game he told the players to go more direct to beat the Ipswich man to man press in the 2nd half....come on Stevie you should have heard this :) YNWA

[@hassshoban8206]

Slot's coaches are working with Nunez in training to him help on 1v1 chances. 😊

[@apollothamc]

Click bait headline , it hooked me !

[@clickbasics101]

Looong way to go. Hold the applause and excitement. Let's just focus

[@Winterfellen]

Normally, when you delete any sign you play for a club on instagram the bench is the best you can hope for.

[@christopherojapah8384]

Those goals were scored second half when we went bk to high press style that players are used too

[@christopherojapah8384]

This is how media stsrt trouble at vlibs.who told you nunez was not happy. We didn't see that.focus on how well liverpool played in the second half that should be the conversation

[@TheDaveCalaz]

"DNP" Where is the game I loved?

[@roberttungoe9840]

For f sake, Darwin upset for what. For not playing well? Stevie should tell Slot to play all the players in a single game 👀. Just enjoy the win

[@pbsmoothie7281]

It wasnt a kick up the backside, it was tactical changes and obviously a discussion about what to do differently. These dinosaurs are forever stuck in their era

[@AhmedMohamed-sj4fp]

Darwin is on the bench cause sadly he can't finish

[@sejungmyeong3105]

We don't care about players' feeling. We care about our team's win. Liverpool should be different from Man United where Anthony and McGuire play games as starting 11 because of their expensive transfer fees. In Liverpool, players who can play the best with their colleagues and have better forms should play games. No exception. Jota is one of the most underrated players in the EPL. He is not only a good scorer with high football IQ but also a catalyst who can make other teammates shine.

[@TacoDaRED]

Im sure he his ok,but i dont think we condone trying to throw a chair in the stands either still hasnt been any charges brought up plus Slott style lil diffrent so sit back have a matte son

[@arunkp20]

Jota is simply better than Nunez. There's no two ways about it. Not just finishing, Jota's link up play is brilliant.

[@demri123]

But Diaz isnt

[@markstv40]

Click bait headline, it was explained already Darwin was late back to the Liverpool camp and not fully up to speed yet

[@thelmaviaduct]

He's not got the ability at this level, misses too many chances, Jota is clinical. Choice of a genuine predator or Lukaku lite. Nothing wrong in mixing up approach play, best opposition doesn't know what to expect.

[@jamesli9380]

Nicol was renowned for not being the brightest even in his glorious playing days, so some things never change...

[@kakapopopipi1]

As long as we keep winning that's all that matters

[@Oscar22185]

I’d be upset too if I missed so many shots 😂

[@twindigo]

Wow such insight from ESPN. A player isn’t happy not playing! Who would have thought 😂

[@AvtarSinghHistory]

It's a long long season....he will get his starts. Today, he didn't start. Neither did Gakpo.

[@augustinekomaki5213]

He didn't need to come on, Slot didn't bring on anyone that didn't need to be brought on.

[@ragerider6283]

He should be annoyed & hopefully it will motivate him to improve. He also joined the pre-season later than anyone else too so he has work to do. Although, it's broadly irrelevant as Jota will no doubt be injured soon so it he'll get his chance soon enough.

[@lukeh2407]

It’s been one game 😂

[@markhand4530]

jota has had more time adapting to slots way of playing whereas nunez has only just arrived back. I dont agree with stevie for that reason, i dont think slot will hold anything against nunez or lack trust in him the way klopp did, rightly or wrongly!

[@krisxchirbas9503]

Slots ideas were inspired out there. Liverpool clearly are gonna be pretty good.

[@jacky0129]

The best is yet to come, WE'RE LIVERPOOL ❤😢

[@Briannakitare-jo9ki]

He will stay there until he starts putting easy chances away.Slot won't be sentimental like Klop.

[@andrewhylton8712]

Nunez should only be used with 20 minutes to go when LFC are chasing a game . Please dont let him to.start any PL or UCL matches

[@broman82]

Nunez didn't do himself any favors in the friendly against Las Palmas, he was wasteful as per usual.. I love Darwin and wish for nothing less than him hitting his stride.. YNWA let's go mighty REDS!!

[@thomaswright8999]

I’m sure most players are unhappy on the bench. It’s the first game of the season I don’t think he will care that much

[@ynwa73]

He's only had 1 training session

[@DiReal_Donclassy]

What a ridiculous headline. Liverpool isn't about making a player who hasn't shown readiness to play, happy. In this regime no player is irreplaceable, including my dear Salah. Ipswich switched off when Mo Killer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jota and Lucho were still on the field. You can't do that men!!.

[@redgoals5701]

This is Salah's day,don't make ir a negative about a player not even playing you miserable people. SALAH IS ONE OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE ALL TIME GREATS AS HE BREAKS YET ANOTHER RECORD.There's your headline.

[@demystify2022]

“It feels like Darwin Nunez is unhappy on the bench.” Why would anyone feel happy sitting on the bench? Shouldn’t pundits be telling us things we don’t know, rather than stating the obvious?

[@RandallSamuel-f9h]

I'm concerned that Slott doesn't seem to have a good relationship with nunez, he didn't get a minute's game time in preseason. We already made a bad decision in letting cahvalho go, hope we don't lose nunez too

[@davidlow5934]

Nunez has only been back in training for about 10- 12 days, and he has played him, against Las Palmas last weekend in 0-0 draw. So why would Slot be starting ahead of any of the other front line attack??

[@ibroxmedia]

Klopp was playin Nunez to justify his hefty price tag. Slot won’t be forced to play him. He has to redeem himself first

[@Marjopolo302]

Nunez is waiting for Jota to get injured, and I hope that won't be happening. .... Jota can be lethal if you give him sniffs

[@nicklevitt6395]

Nunez will end up in Spain 1000%. He shows flashes of brilliance but flatters to deceive. Constantly caught offside and fluffing his lines in front of goal time and time again. He has talent for sure but is he mentally tough enough for the Prem. Hopefully Slot will build his confidence and prove me wrong but its doubtful.

[@jordandelurey8079]

What is jules on about the first goal you'd never see under klopp build up situation from allison through the thirds these people haven't a clue honestly

[@CoopMauKona]

Why does Nicol support these nonsense questions? We have a big talented squad and we won the match. Elliot didn't play either. Trent was subbed off. Endo didn't play. Sick of the media starting this nonsense. Man City literally just sold their version of Darwin Nunez.... why are they starting trouble? Guardiola doesn't care who is happy and who isn't which is why he wins so much. I like that about Slot.

[@rickglasby3362]

He should be on the bench. Jota Is far far superior. If we could get a sale on Nunez I’d take it now as long as we could get someone half decent in. Doesn’t have to be a world beater because most will be more productive than Nunez.

[@FrancisNduta]

Always bringing a United player in your Liverpool conversation shows your obsession with Man United.

[@stephenkemp8737]

I used to love Stevie as a player as a pundit he really grinds my gears ...

[@KingUsawaFootball]

Only Gareth Bale was happy on the bench 😅

[@chrishwacha9587]

What nonsense is that, which football player would be happy on the bench? Liverpool has just played one match and you already know that players are unhappy?

[@demri123]

Salah is in his final year, and Diaz is awful so Darwin is going to be crucial for LFC in the future. He will be a star

[@WilliamStanfield-pr4uh]

Darwin didn't even play what about salah breaking another record. To think green tie played 4 liverpool back in the day. Bitter old men