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Arne Slot had criticised Darwin Nunez’s work ethic after Liverpool’s 2-all draw against Aston Villa last Wednesday.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk Backs Under-Fire Darwin Nunez: ‘He Is Big Part Of Team’ (Picture credit: AP)
Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has said that putting in 100% effort should be the bare minimum, and an under-fire Darwin Nunez knows it well, backing the latter to do well despite copping criticism from coach Arne Slot.
Slot had criticised Nunez’s work ethic after Liverpool’s 2-all draw against Aston Villa last Wednesday.
Liverpool hosted Newcastle in a Premier League game at Anfield on Thursday, and Nunez came in as a substitute. After the match, van Dijk addressed the problem of players having to put in top efforts always.
“That is the bare minimum that has been asked of the whole squad from day one. But that is the bare minimum anyway for playing for Liverpool. It was more down to him, and it is still down to him, but I think he showed a great reaction today in his work rate and coming on,” van Dijk was quoted as saying by The Mirror.
“Everyone has a big role to play. I mentioned it last week after Aston Villa. We are all in this together, and we need everyone. He is a big part of the team as well, and when he comes on, he has to make a positive impact,” van Dijk added.
In the 2024-25 season, Nunez has scored six goals and has assisted on five occasions in 36 matches for Liverpool.
“There is no ‘almost there.’ There are 10 more games to go for us, and nothing is decided. Until anything is decided, we don’t get carried away whatsoever. I’m a bit of a boring guy because I always keep saying ‘on to the next’ and keep calm,” van Dijk said.
“You have to enjoy winning games but not for too long because we play almost every three days. That is the only thing we have to do: prepare for the next. It was an intense 15 days with lots of intense games, and we came out of it pretty well,” van Dijk added.
Liverpool next face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg game on March 6 at Parc des Princes. The former are placed at the top of the CL table with seven wins in eight matches.
