Nunes trained with Liverpool ahead of the friendly with Crystal Palace
Liverpool had a second-half masterclass from Darwin Nunes to thank for inspiring them to a comfortable win against RB Leipzig in their final pre-season friendly on Thursday night. Jurgen Klopp fielded a surprisingly strong squad to face the Bundesliga heavyweights, and the German manager’s big players got the job done with an encouraging display throughout the 90 minutes.
Liverpool went in search of a quick start and managed to get one through Mohamed Salah, who finished calmly after being released by Roberto Firmino with a deft shot into space. The Merseyside giants dominated possession for much of the contest but were tested on numerous occasions by Leipzig, with the German side finding joy on the counter-attack as the interval approached.
Nunes doubled Liverpool’s advantage from the penalty spot after half-time to register his first goal since joining Liverpool from Benfica earlier this summer. He scored again just moments later with a perfect strike to finish off a quick attacking move before completing an impressive hat-trick by turning the ball over from close range under pressure.
The Uruguay striker grabbed a fourth with the last kick of the game to seal a solid away win for the visitors against high-level European opposition, but Klopp and his coaching staff will undoubtedly be looking to fine-tune several aspects. on the training ground ahead of the new Premier League season.
Here’s what we learned from another comfortable pre-season win for Liverpool.
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Darwin Nunes scored for Liverpool with a stunning hat-trick against RB Leipzig (Image: GETTY)
Nunes has well and truly arrived
Nunes was criticized for a number of simple omissions during Liverpool’s pre-season tour following his recent arrival from Benfica. However, the young striker lived up to his lofty expectations against Leipzig, scoring within seven minutes of being brought on as a half-time substitute.
He was able to open his account for Liverpool by converting a spot-kick after Luis Diaz was brought down with a heavy challenge in the area. The striker’s second goal proved exactly why he could be one of the most feared strikers in English football for the next few years, his low finish coming after a burst of electrifying speed to get off his marker.
Nunez completed a brilliant hat-trick, stretching out a leg to head home Harvey Elliott’s cross just after the hour mark, before adding a fourth in the dying seconds with another well-placed effort. His arrival on Merseyside was probably overshadowed by Erling Haaland’s move to Manchester City in the bigger scheme of things, but Nunes could well have the qualities to usurp the Norwegian as the Premier League’s best summer signing if things go well in his debut season with Liverpool.
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Mohamed Salah opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first 10 minutes (Image: EXPRESS)
Salah just gets better with age
Mohamed Salah’s recent decision to extend his five-year stay at Liverpool could turn out to be the club’s best in-house business in a few years. The Egyptian wizard led the charge for the Reds last season with 31 goals in all competitions and could match or even surpass his tally when next asked if his performance against Leipzig was anything to go by.
He ran the show from the first whistle, finishing coolly into the bottom corner to give Liverpool an early lead before becoming the focal point of his side’s attacking play as he often does. He played a slightly more limited role than usual and looked a real threat when he was on the ball, with dazzling performances that brought back memories of his incredible form in the first half of the previous campaign.
However, Salah’s goals disappeared as the season wound down and he is expected to be edged out of this year’s Ballon d’Or by Karim Benzema as a result. However, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to replicate his early season efforts over the course of a full year when competitive action finally resumes.
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Roberto Firmino was impressive during his first half performance (Image: GETTY)
Firmino can still be decisive
Roberto Firmino’s long-term future at Anfield has been questioned by fans and pundits alike this summer. The Brazilian ace has played a key role for the Reds in recent years, but found himself on the bench for most of last season and managed just five Premier League goals.
However, he showed glimpses of his old self against Leipzig as he played the false nine role with as much experience as you would expect from a player of his calibre. Firmino was heavily involved in setting up Salah for Liverpool’s early goal, made a number of difficult runs to pose questions to Leipzig’s defenders and won plenty of fouls in the opposition half, causing himself trouble with the ball at his feet.
The arrival of Darwin Nunes will almost certainly see Firmino relinquish second place when the new Premier League campaign begins. However, he still seems capable of providing a healthy injection of the trophy-winning quality that helped Liverpool secure their domestic and European titles during Firmino’s time on Merseyside.
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Liverpool have won two and lost one of their pre-season games so far (Image: EXPRESS)
Defense gaps must be eliminated
Liverpool managed to secure a comfortable win against Leipzig but will be hoping to improve things at the back ahead of the upcoming Premier League season. There were a few questionable moments in the Reds’ defence, particularly in the first half, with Leipzig breaking through on several occasions.
A back four consisting of Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander-Arnold is enough to strike fear into the hearts of any elite-level side on the planet, but Leipzig still managed to counter regularly as they approached of the match interval. Liverpool went one clear as the ball flew into the half-hour mark before Adrian made a strong save to deny Leipzig an equalizer on the stroke of half-time.
Liverpool conceded just 26 goals in the Premier League last season and fully expect to perform at a similar level when domestic action resumes in early August. Improvements may need to be made to stand a better chance of shutting out better teams than Leipzig on the biggest stages, however, based on the mistakes that appeared against their German opponents on Thursday.
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