The Red Brigade maintained its spirit on a difficult day
Preparations for Sunday’s clash with Nottingham Forest have been hit by news of the kidnapping of Luis Diaz’s parents in his native Colombia. It is understandable why number 7 refused to participate in the match as he anxiously awaited the latest developments from his home country.
Not having Diaz promises to make for a difficult afternoon, especially when the home team is trying to maintain a record of not losing at home in the Premier League for a year. Jurgen Klopp’s team acted in a touching display of solidarity after Diogo Jota opened the scoring.
The Portuguese international held up a shirt with Luis Diaz’s name and shirt number. It has partly eased worries in an unprecedented context that requires nerves of steel for both Diaz and his teammates. And Liverpool responded perfectly to those difficulties.
Jota did a great job replacing Diaz.
Mac Allister is on the right track
Alexis Mac Allister’s Anfield career hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. The World Cup champion admitted this after receiving a red card in his home debut and often having to play out of his natural position.
This is said to be Mac Allister’s best performance in the red shirt ever, when he was able to hold the match effectively against a not too strong Forest team. He regularly moved into the final third and performed much better than in previous rounds, where the deep-lying role he held limited his creativity.
But the Argentine is in trouble after receiving his fourth booking of the Premier League season, following a brutal foul in midfield in the second half. Another yellow card in Liverpool’s next two matches would see him banned for one match, which would prevent the 24-year-old from attending the trip to Brentford or the crucial match against Manchester City.
Nunez’s progress hasn’t stopped
Darwin Nunez is showing very few signs of second season syndrome. A difficult opening 12 months on Merseyside are a distant memory as Nunez goes from strength to strength with another goal against Forest.
Nunez is in high form this season.
Arranged in a central role, his goal in the first half brought his total number of goals to 6 in the current season. Most of all, Nunez has benefited from Klopp’s creation of ‘Liverpool 2.0’, with his best qualities being maximized by a more flexible midfield.
The understanding with Mohamed Salah is the key to promoting the abilities of this 24-year-old player. The Uruguayan player has a total of 10 goals in all competitions. Nunez is more than halfway to equaling last season’s tally of 19 goals. Everything is showing that he will do this soon.
Dang Nguyen | 18:40 October 30, 2023
