Arne Slot ready to abandon Liverpool experiment as Darwin Nunez handed clear direction

Darwin Nunez seems set for one of the biggest weeks of his career if comments from his manager are anything to go by.

With at on Wednesday night, the Uruguayan forward made a somewhat surprise appearance from the bench alongside .

Slot is likely to have viewed the cameo appearances as something akin to training time for the attacking pair, with both almost certainly set to return to the starting line-up for round two with the Seagulls in the at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

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Salah's appearance is obviously a given, but Nunez's less so. Prior to the last week-and-a-half only four of the forward's eight appearances under the Dutchman had been from the start, but since last Wednesday he's and teed up Salah's vital equaliser at . He was hugely impressive when coming on for the injured Diogo Jota at home to too.

And what is notable is that Nunez has been performing well in a very un-Nunez way. Known as the chaotic forward who will take shots from anywhere, often wildly, he didn't register a single attempt at goal against either Chelsea or Arsenal, while his three shots at Leipzig were all on target, two bringing fine saves from Peter Gulacsi and one going in from on the goal line.

Fewer shots? Is that really what a striker is supposed to do? Well in Nunez's case, it certainly isn't a bad thing. And Slot is sure to be happy with his No.9 too.

The centre-forward in the Dutchman's system is required to work harder than pretty much any other player in the XI, creating space for overloads on the wings and the wide players to deliver in front of goal, something Jota has notably done for Salah and Luis Diaz this season.

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The No.9 needs to find the net themselves as well of course, and by leaving him out at Brighton Slot has dropped a huge hint that Nunez will be leading his line in a week of big Anfield matches against the Seagulls, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa.

The Reds boss used and Diaz in wide attacking roles at the Amex Stadium, with Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai acting as two No.10s behind. It was a system seen in pre-season when Slot was missing four of his five attacking options after international tournaments, but it is very much a case of needs must.

“If you play those two (Jones and Szoboszlai) without a number nine, you are always a bit worried if you have enough runs in behind the last line because these two like also to play into the midfield and make combinations over there, to make triangles over there,” said Slot after the game, clearly lamenting what he had lost from two of his best attacking midfielders by playing this way.

“But I think what they did really well was combining, trying to become an extra midfielder, but don’t forget to make the deep runs as well. It helped that Diaz and Gakpo were a constant threat in behind also, so in general I liked what I saw."

Of course Diaz and Gakpo - two players often playing for the same position - were Liverpool's matchwinners, particularly the excellent Gakpo. It will have pleased Slot enormously to see his fellow countryman score two excellent goals and Diaz prove his usual menacing threat from what is normally Salah's flank.

Gakpo would often get moved around by , but Slot doesn't seem to want to use either player in the centre-forward position, and after giving Nunez most of the night off he is set for a return this weekend.

“I prefer to play with a number nine," continued Slot, "but if they are not available – and of course we had Darwin available, but I think it was not good for him to start today after playing three games and with the upcoming schedule – then this was the result of what we tried to come up with and the players did really well, in my opinion.”

It was a usual matter-of-fact take from a manager whose honest approach has been refreshing, and it hinted at a big seven days ahead for Nunez. If he can keep delivering what Slot wants, then that No.9 shirt could be his to keep.

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