Liverpool manager Arne Slot has called on Darwin Nunez to join the “five, six or seven” players in the world who are “outstanding” 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 injury time as the leaders won 2-0 at Brentford.
“The hardest thing in football, for a team and for an individual, is finding consistency,” Slot said. “Only a few players in the world are capable of being at the same level every three days.
“There is a very large group of players who are capable of playing well many times, but not every time. He is one of the players who belong to the group who is good on many occasions.
“But the next step for him – it would be good – is to get into the bracket of five, six, seven players in the world who stand out every three days.
“We have players who are of a very high level every three days. It’s a great challenge for him to [join] this group. He’s probably in a good position now, because he scored two.
Darwin Nunez statistics
The 25-year-old started 14 of Slot’s 30 matches in all competitions during the Dutchman’s first season in charge, although the Uruguay international was on the bench in 11 of 19 matches. level for which it was available.
Mohamed Salah has 21 goals this season, with Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz on 12, Diogo Jota on eight and Nunez scoring six.
Alongside defender Joe Gomez, Slot believes Jota will be out for weeks rather than months due to a muscle injury, which could give Nunez more minutes in his absence.
Liverpool vs Lille
Liverpool host Lille on the penultimate day of the Champions League league stage on Tuesday (20:00 GMT), when Nunez hopes to continue his run of appearing in all of his European matches so far this season.
The French side have notable victories against Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, but are five points behind the Reds, who are the only team with a perfect record in six games.
“They were unlucky with the matches and that’s why I’m so impressed,” Slot said of their third-placed Ligue 1 opponents.
“They faced Sporting [2-0 away defeat] when Ruben Amorim was still [manager] there and Sporting were impossible to beat.
“They faced Juventus [1-1 home draw]Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and now they face us, then my old club, Feyenoord.
Champions League: Liverpool in the lead
Slot cited Paris Saint-Germain’s current position in the playoff places as evidence that finishing high in the new single 36-team table format might not make the draw favorable.
“You think number one [in the table] “It’s the best position to finish, but being at the top might not mean you’re the best team,” he said.
“A lot of it depends on the teams you played against. We want to win, but not with the idea that it will give us the best [route through] the rest of the campaign.
