I heard what Arne Slot said about Darwin Nunez but reality about Liverpool star speaks volumes

Darwin Nunez has been a divisive figure since he came to Liverpool for a club-record fee of around $109m (£85m/€100m) from Benfica.

More than two years on from signing, though, a consensus is perhaps being reached. While there is still a lingering hope that he can click into gear and the Anfield crowd gets behind the Uruguayan unanimously, even when he is underperforming, there is little doubt about his place in the pecking order at the moment. Arne Slot has got more from numerous players this season - most notably Ryan Gravenberch - but Nunez isn't one of them.

Against Girona, he missed a couple of huge chances and made some poor decisions. While some strikers who don't offer much in general play score enough to justify that, Nunez isn't one of them at the moment.

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"What I can agree on is that he missed a few chances," Slot said during his post-match press conference. "Then it's always the question: does this have anything to do with low confidence, or is this a situation where he's in at the moment?

"I think every striker all around the world has periods where every ball goes in, and sometimes he has a period where you try so hard but you're not able to score. The good thing is that we have many players that can score for us — today Mo [Salah] again.

"I would have loved to see Darwin score because I think every striker wants to score [and] needs goals — that's why I kept him in for quite a long time. He was a threat but unfortunately, he couldn't score."

While Slot could hardly slate his number nine, this was just the latest performance in which Nunez didn't really make the right impression. With Diogo Jota having been out lately, it has been a series of missed chances.

Nunez has played consistently during the spell in which Jota has been sidelined but has picked up more yellow cards than goals in that period. Now Jota is nearing a comeback - he was left out of the traveling party here but is back in training - the Portugal forward will not be feeling left behind in the race for the number nine berth.

The simple fact is that Nunez's performances should have him down the pecking order. If the Champions League final was tomorrow, Plan A should be Jota and Plan B should be Cody Gakpo on the left and Luis Diaz down the middle. Third in line would be starting Nunez, which speaks volumes this far into his Anfield career.

There is, of course, still time for Nunez to change things and turn the tide. It is more than possible that he could pick up form in the next few weeks and fire in some vital goals on the way to major silverware. Right now, however, no matter what Slot says, Nunez isn't playing well. The clear reality is, with Jota's return signaling the end of a missed opportunity, he has a fight on to prove where he fits.