"Not the usual him who works his a** off" - Slot reveals he was unhappy with Darwin Nunez's reaction after open goal miss in Liverpool-Villa draw

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has slammed Darwin Nunez for his reaction after missing a sitter in a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Wednesday (February 19). The Uruguay international missed an open goal after being introduced in the 66th minute as a substitute for Diogo Jota.

The Merseyside giants took the lead through Mohamed Salah but Unai Emery's side replied through Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins. Liverpool vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold's deflected strike brought back parity in the 61st minute.

Nunez was brought on for Jota by Arne Slot and the Uruguayan almost immediately got a golden chance to give the Reds their lead back. With Villa keeper Emi Martinez out of the picture, Nunez had the goal at his mercy but blazed his shot over the crossbar.

After the game, Arne Slot claimed he is ready to accept players missing chances. However, he insisted that he was far from happy with Nunez's reaction and his lack of work ethic. The Dutch manager said (via the official Liverpool website):

"I can accept every miss, especially from a player who has scored two very important goals against Brentford, and at home against Villa. I would prefer him to score, but the word chance says it all — it's a chance, so it's not 100 percent sure that the ball goes in and players miss."

He added:

"I can accept the miss, but what is harder to accept is his behavior after that chance. It got too much in his head where he wasn't the usual Darwin that worked his a** off and helped the team, he was too disappointed. And maybe that's why he was just a fraction short the moment afterwards."

Slot urged Nunez to learn from teammate Wataru Endo's mindset and give his everything whenever he is on the pitch. He said:

"I truly believe that it's the best to have [Wataru] Endo's mindset: he keeps on going and whenever we need him, he is ready. That is very difficult, there are not many players that can do this. It's not about the chance for me, it's more about the 20 minutes afterwards the mindset where I want to talk to him about."

Darwin Nunez has been a rather underwhelming signing for Liverpool unlike most of the club's signings in recent years. The Reds signed him from Benfica in 2022 in a reported £85 million deal but he has failed to live up to his price tag.

The forward has scored just 39 goals and provided 22 assists in 131 appearances for the Merseyside giantst to date.

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Liverpool register interest in former PSG star: Reports

Liverpool are reportedly interested in former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker Hugo Ekitike in the summer. As reported by Foot Mercato (via TBR Football), they are considering the Frenchman as a replacement for Darwin Nunez.

Ekitike is currently on the books of Eintracht Frankfurt where he has been hugely impressive this season. He joined the German side initially on loan in February 2024 before making his move permanent this summer.

The 22-year-old has contributed with 17 goals and six assists in 32 appearances this season for Frankfurt. He was formerly on the books of PSG where he made 33 appearances scoring four times and providing four assists.