Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has defended his decision to bring off star attacker Darwin Nunez midway through the second half of the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, insisting that the Uruguayan was ‘not on the absolute top level’.
The Reds went into the game needing to win by three goals to force the tie into extra time, and Nunez looked like one of their most likely avenues of finding a goal. The summer signing forced Thibaut Courtois into a fine save in the first half and had three shots on target, more than anyone else in his team.
However, after 60 minutes the dangerous attacker was removed from the action (just after Mo Salah had missed a glorious opportunity to put him through on goal) much to the frustration of Liverpool fans and the confusion of those watching.
Counter-attack where Gakpo had lofted a pass into Salah who came inside & was close to finding Núñez’s run in-behind. Shortly after, Klopp subs Núñez off (alongside Jota) so LFC lose their penetration in-behind. Baffling choice like much of Klopp’s in-game management this season.
— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) March 15, 2023
However, Klopp has since defended the move to introduce Roberto Firmino for the forward, explaining that he felt he needed more defensively as well as in attack, while reasoning that Diogo Jota needed his load managed after injury.
“Darwin looked like he was not on the absolute top level and then we need to defend that side as well because conceding a goal is not helpful in that situation,” the Liverpool boss said.
“We can change there, that’s why we did it. We wanted to mix it a little bit, that’s true. For Diogo, it was clear that he should not play now extremely long because he is still coming back from a long, long injury”
Liverpool ultimately fell to a 1-0 defeat, and a 6-2 aggregate loss, to exit the Champions League at the first knockout round and leave them with just a spot in the top 4 to play for this season.
