The Darwin Nunez conundrum remains at Liverpool after he struggled to stamp his authority in the 2-0 win over Bologna, a match that had its ups and downs for Arne Slot‘s side.
Anfield welcomed back Champions League action with a victory on Wednesday evening, with Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah scoring the goals to add another three points to Liverpool’s tally.
“Overall good result, but I wouldn’t use the word ‘delighted’ myself,” Slot assessed post-match after his side gave impetus to Bologna.
Here, Joanna Durkan (@JoannaDurkan_) and Sam Millne (@sam_millne), who were both at Anfield, discuss the latest victory and the enigma that is Nunez.
The good…
JOANNA: In the lead-up to the match I was able to head into town and there were plenty of Bologna fans around, the atmosphere around the place was really good.
The sun was shining, hallelujah, and you could not have asked for a better day after what has felt like endless rain in the UK!
My first match at Anfield this season and it had its moments. Mohamed Salah‘s goal and assist were a thing of beauty!
I had a pretty good view of them both and you knew almost the moment they came off the boot it was going to have a cracking ending.
Ryan Gravenberch was another level once again and it was nice to see him in full flight with my own eyes rather than the angles the TV director chooses to show us. Lots of talk in the stands about him too, rightly so!
SAM: As the evenings get colder, supporters were making sure to enjoy their last pre-match drinks without the big coat until 2025.
Most of the talk was about how many we would win by, such has been the confidence instilled in fans by Slot. In the end, it didn’t turn out that way, with Vincenzo Italiano clearly now making his mark on Bologna who played good football at times.
The Reds were solid, though, and while Slot would have preferred the second to have come earlier, Liverpool ultimately saw out the game in relative comfort.
I think the performance would best be described as ‘professional’.
The bad…
JOANNA: That the price of water at Anfield has gone from £2 to £2.20.
Other than that, the referee was shocking. I don’t know what he was seeing because it wasn’t what actually happened, he was just blowing his whistle as and when he felt like it.
Some really bizarre decisions and the yellow card for Ibou just summed it up. What was he thinking? Got the atmosphere going where I was sat in the upper Main Stand, at least.
Lastly, our final ball was lacking far too often and some of the passes out from the back allowed Bologna to gain some confidence – two things Liverpool really need to polish moving forward.
Konate’s reaction for receiving a yellow card for no reason. ?pic.twitter.com/5f1e893zYw
— Samuel (@SamueILFC) October 2, 2024
SAM: As Joanna said, I really couldn’t get my head around some of the bookings, Konate’s in particular.
Ultimately, it didn’t really matter on the night but it could still have ramifications, should he pick up further yellow cards.
From my lower Anfield Road position, it was clear as day that Ibou was the victim, not the perpetrator, in this scenario. The referee acted like a schoolteacher who doesn’t know the culprit so punishes the class!
Apart from that, it was difficult to complain about too much on the night.
And Darwin Nunez struggled at Anfield, can you see any way he fits under Arne Slot?
SAM: I feel like we haven’t really moved on in the Darwin debate since Klopp left.
Under Slot he is still bringing the same positives and negatives that have made him such a tricky player to work out since signing in 2022.
Personally, I don’t think his goalscoring record is the issue, it’s how he fits in overall as the team’s forward – he and Jota are very different players.
It was interesting after the game to hear Slot say he was making the right runs but his teammates weren’t finding him, perhaps signalling the coach was relatively pleased with Nunez’s showing.
JOANNA: He’s a real enigma, is Darwin. The ability is there but we need it consistently and with more confidence that it’ll stand up in the big moments.
It looked like he kept having his hair pulled but you just wanted him to be stronger in the contest, to be the safe out ball.
It is hard to see him really pushing Diogo for a starting spot. He’s an option when rotation is needed or injury forces Slot’s hand but otherwise he’s not done enough, for me.
He’s not played a lot of football of late and you can give him some leniency for that, but the lack of chaos in Slot’s system does not sing to what Nunez is naturally gifted at.
He makes some good runs that are not always rewarded by his teammates but that offside to rule out a good finish just summed him up, it really was not difficult to stay in line.
I want so much for him to succeed and support is not an issue, Anfield readily sang his name but it is going to take more than that.
