Darwin Nunez has not had the easiest time of it lately. Having scored just three goals so far this season, things are not flowing at the Liverpool ace would ideally like.

"For me, he has impact," Arne Slot said in the build-up to playing Fulham, defending his striker as you would expect. Yet there is little doubt that there remain big question marks over the Liverpool record signing.

"If you only look at goals, he hasn't scored the amount of goals that he wants to score, or we want a number nine to score, but he does have impact in his work rate," Slot continued. "He's part of a team that scores a lot of goals and is winning a lot."

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Against Fulham, though, Liverpool went with Luis Diaz down the middle and Cody Gakpo off the left. Nunez was dropped to the bench and he made a limited impact from the sidelines when he came on.

"Of course, as a number nine, you want to score more goals, and that's definitely what he wants as well," Slot said on Friday. "But I'm not only judging Mohamed Salah on his goals and Darwin on his goals — I also judge them on their work rate and what they bring to the team. The fans support him so much that maybe he wants it too much."

Nunez's problem is twofold. Firstly, he is not performing to his maximum and he is very much a confidence player; when he is lacking self-belief, it tends to show. More than that, though, Liverpool showcased here just how many attacking options it now has.

Diaz impressed through the middle even though there were different demands placed on the role when Robertson had gone off, and Jota, of course, is now back, announcing himself with that well-taken finish in front of The Kop which rescued a point. Alongside Jota, Federico Chiesa also returned to the matchday squad after proving his fitness and readiness to be involved.

With that many players to pick from, Slot doesn't have to go with anyone who isn't in good shape. Liverpool has ample attacking options to go with and only those who are in form and playing well will get chances in the games that matter the most.

Even beyond the traditional forwards, Dominik Szoboszlai has gone up a gear or two in recent games and was very good against Fulham, and Harvey Elliott looked sharp when he entered the fray too. Suddenly, the Liverpool attacking depth looks considerably healthier.

Having Jota available again and Szoboszlai and Elliott looking good — plus, potentially, Chiesa when he makes his own comeback — Slot has exactly what he wanted in the summer when his roster was put together. The more options in attack, the better, for the team at least. But for Nunez, the challenge of getting minutes when it matters most has just increased even further.