Jurgen Klopp has welcomed Darwin Nunez‘s four-goal haul in the win at RB Leipzig as the “best way to stop all these discussions” that surfaced on social media.
Liverpool’s new No. 27 arrived at Anfield knowing he is destined to be the most expensive signing in club history, adding another layer of expectation on his shoulders.
As a more traditional forward option, he is a move away from what the Reds have grown accustomed to under Klopp with the likes of Mo Salah, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
The manager has acknowledged as such and the settling-in period not only extends to Nunez but also his teammates as they all get to know each other and their game on the pitch.
It led to a predictable response on social media to his early outings in Asia, but four goals against RB Leipzig on Thursday was as good of a response as any, with the manager saying “the box of Pandora was [then] opened.”
“Mo gives Darwin the penalty and the box of Pandora was opened. That’s of course a perfect night for him,” Klopp told LFCTV when assessing Nunez’s 45-minute performance.
“We always think that if you pay a lot of money then the players feel no pressure or whatever.
“They are all completely normal human beings and the first touch is not perfect then all of a sudden.
“This generation of players read social media, which is really not smart, but they do. All of a sudden you get in a rush and these kinds of things.
“That’s the best way, obviously, to stop all these discussions. He’s a different striker to what we have or what we had, but he’s a really good one.”
The manager again hits the nail on the head with the reactionary takes on social media that players can then see and internalise, creating a pressure that does not exist inside Liverpool’s own four walls.
For Nunez, it is the ideal response and one that will give him plenty of confidence as the Reds now head to Austria for a training camp before meeting Salzburg on Wednesday.
