Ian Wright expressed his disagreement with Jurgen Klopp’s choice to substitute Darwin Nunez during Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw against Manchester City.
The 24-year-old Uruguayan, who started alongside Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz at Anfield, capitalized on Nathan Ake’s errant back-pass early in the second half, earning his side a penalty that Alexis Mac Allister converted to level the score, canceling out John Stones’ first-half goal for Pep Guardiola’s team.
Despite Nunez’s significant contribution and his tally of 10 Premier League goals this season, Klopp opted to replace him with Gakpo in the 76th minute, a decision that Wright found disagreeable given the finely balanced nature of the game.
Wright highlighted Nunez’s industriousness as Liverpool’s No.9, acknowledging his room for improvement in certain aspects of his game.
Wright shared his thoughts on the matter during Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football broadcast: “He [Nunez] is somebody I would never take off, especially at Anfield. I think that he makes runs, he does things when he doesn’t get the ball and he gets a little bit dispirited by it, but when you look at him now and the opportunities there are.”
Evaluating Nunez’s overall display at Anfield, the ex-Arsenal and England striker stressed a lack of understanding between him and certain midfield teammates. This observation was underscored by several mistimed runs by the Uruguayan during the first half.
“You see when Mac Allister has the ball, he’s not even looking, watch him, he makes a move but we know that Harvey Elliott is left-footed, he’s not going to be able to get that to him, and he’s making a move and he should know he’s not getting it straight off the bat. He’s in a situation where he cannot receive that ball,” added Wright.
“I think sometimes he tries to go and get that ball and for me, I think Szoboszlai can put him in. You look at him, he’s disappointed because Szoboszlai has got to be looking to get that ball over there. He’s ready to go again and he looks dispirited. He’s not in the wrong stages and they have to look at putting him in.
“He’s constantly making runs. This is the penalty, this is him going and doing something for himself. He gets the penalty and he keeps going, but you can see him constantly wanting the ball. When you look at him, he will try to run but watch him lose interest now. He’s lost interest and now the ball has gone, he doesn’t know when he’s going to get it from them. This is what has got to happen, they have to start looking for him.
“The chance, for me, he has got to do better. You know Robertson is going to put it straight in and I don’t think he’s moving quick enough now, he’s got enough space between him and Akanji to get closer to get a whole foot on that ball, he’s not got enough on that. He can’t go too early in that situation. He knows Robertson is putting that in first time and he has to be closer to Akanji and get a full touch on it and that was a good chance for him.”
Providing guidance to the £64m forward who transferred to Anfield from Benfica in June 2022, Wright said: “I would just tighten him up in those situations and let him watch those videos and say look at this, look what you can do. Speak to Harvey Elliott and say look, when you get that ball, you don’t even need to look. If you get that ball in that situation, put it in there. I used to say it to all of the players, don’t even look, in there I am going to go, just put it in there.”