Arne Slot sets ambitious challenge for Darwin Nunez at Liverpool - 'That is the next step'
Arne Slot has set Darwin Nunez a challenge to become world class after coming off the bench to win the game for Liverpool against Brentford at the weekend.
Nunez emerged as a second-half substitute at the Gtech Community Stadium and scored twice in stoppage time to clinch all three points for his team.
The Uruguayan could also have been sent off for a second bookable offence after opening the scoring. He was booked for taking his shirt off while celebrating his first goal, and then escaped a caution for a late challenge on a Brentford player.
Slot was asked how he handles not knowing what to expect from Nunez on the pitch, and responded by praising the player, but called on him to make the step up to perform at a high level in every single match.
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Slot said: "He would have been sent off after the 2-0, so nobody is saying 'that's why they won' and 'that's why they're lucky', blah blah blah. I can come up with a few moments when decisions went against us and we didn't get the points.
"The most difficult thing in football for a team and as an individual is to find consistency. Only a few players in the world are able to be at the same level every three days in a row, then there is a big, big, big group of players that are able to play very good many times, but not every time.
"He [Nunez] is one of the group of players that plays good many times, and it would be nice for him to go into the bracket of the seven or eight players who play well every three days. That is the next step for him. I know we have one or two players who are in that group, and it is a nice challenge for him to get in that group as well."
Nunez will hope to start for Liverpool against Lille in the Champions League, with Slot confirming that Diogo Jota is set to be on the sidelines for a couple of weeks. Jota missed the win at Brentford after picking up a knock in the draw with Nottingham Forest.
