Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez has claimed that he still doesn’t understand anything that Jurgen Klopp says to him.
Darwin made a rare start for Liverpool last night as they beat Rangers 2-0 at Anfield. And speaking to TNT Sports Brasil via somosinvictus.com after the game, he reflected on the language barrier between he and his new manager.
“Well, we didn’t talk much because I don’t know English and he [Klopp] doesn’t know Spanish,” he laughed. “There is a Portuguese translator, Pep [Lijnders], who speaks Portuguese and I understand that. He and Victor [Matos], who are the two Portuguese. In the moments that the mister speaks, they sit next to us and explain to us what we have to do. If they don’t explain to us, we don’t know what to do, we have no idea.”
However, this hasn’t stopped Jurgen’s messages from getting through. Asked for his relationship with the German, Nunez said that he feels the confidence Klopp has in him.
“He [Klopp] has my back, he gives me the confidence. And, well, I have to show it on the pitch and give him back his confidence,” said the 23-year-old.
Klopp still getting through to Darwin
In a separate interview with ESPN Sport Center, Nunez opened up a little more on his difficulty grasping Klopp’s instructions.
“The truth is that I, honestly, in the talks he speaks I do not understand anything,” he admitted. “Sure, I ask my teammates to see what he says. But I think he is very clear about his game. He asks us to do things simple, not to be afraid to play, to have confidence and, when it comes to losing the ball, to be there and press. That’s what he always asks for, he has clear things.”
Good to hear that, despite the obvious issues, the boss’ message is still being understood.
Much improved, but still no goals to show for it
Watching Nunez play last night, it did look as though something had finally clicked. It wasn’t the goal-scoring performance we had all hoped it might be, but it was certainly an improvement.
Perhaps the Uruguayan could have done better on one or two attempts, but he was also unlucky. Coming up against an in-form Allan McGregor is never easy, and the Scot did a fine job at keeping Nunez out.
If he can keep getting into those areas, the goals will come sooner or later. Maybe a little finishing work on the training ground wouldn’t go amiss, but he otherwise slotted nicely into Liverpool’s new look 4-2-3-1.
Nunez’s touch looked sharper, and he appeared to be a lot more in-tune with what was going on around him. After such a promising display, it will be interesting to see how Klopp lines Liverpool up at Arsenal on Sunday.
There had been suggestions yesterday that the manager has quickly re-evaluated his expectations of Nunez. But the best way for him to adapt to Liverpool is by playing. He needs to do more of it. The penny is dropping.
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