Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was taken off at half-time as Uruguay picked up a valuable point in World Cup qualifying in Salvador, Brazil. Federico Valverde opened the scoring before Gerson equalized seven minutes later.
By that point in the game, though, Nunez had been replaced by Rodrigo Aguirre with the Reds man having been ineffectual. And in the Uruguayan media, there was no reason to believe that there was an injury; this was, it said, only a tactical change.
El Observador rated Nunez’s performance at a five out of ten. Although it noted that the Liverpool striker worked hard defensively, he didn’t have too much in the way of service from his teammates and failed to have a single shot on goal.
Fellow Uruguayan outlet El Pais also gave Nunez the same rating for his performance. “Good work with his back to the goal,” it said. “Precise in his first touches. He came off after 45 minutes of the first half.”
Nunez will now head back to Liverpool, where he could start for the Reds against Southampton this weekend. Diogo Jota will not be back from his injury yet, and a big week approaches for Arne Slot’s men.
After traveling to Southampton, Liverpool then has Real Madrid and Manchester City at Anfield in the Champions League and the Premier League respectively. Nunez might well be needed, at least in part, in all three of those matches.
