Liverpool manager Arne Slot has expressed his unhappiness over striker Darwin Nunez’s work-rate in his past two games, saying “I can’t accept.”
The Uruguay international was a second-half substitute in the win over Wolves on February16, and the draw at Aston Villa, three days later when he missed an open goal.
Nunez did not come off the bench in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Manchester City, which took Liverpool 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Slot defended Nunez after his miss against Villa, but said he allowed his “disappointment” to impact his work-rate.
“I helped him by saying you can miss a chance,” Slot said in his news conference before Wednesday’s visit of Newcastle.
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“I wasn’t only hard on him. But for the second time in a row, I wasn’t happy with his work effort, against Wolves and against Villa.
“I can’t accept if a player doesn’t give everything. That is clear. I can accept it once, but twice was a bit too much. That’s why I addressed it.
“If you miss a chance, you need to be fighting for the team. I’m not saying he didn’t do that at all, but it wasn’t the usual Darwin, the one that is loved by the fans. That is mainly because he always works so hard.”
Slot said Nunez, who has scored six goals in 35 games in all competitions for Liverpool this season, was “incredible” in training on Monday.
