Liverpool icon delivers harsh Nunez verdict as Gomez transfer claim made

03 November 2023 , 05:00

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Liverpool will be looking to secure their fifth successive victory in all competitions when they head to struggling Luton in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Reds have won every match since the October international break, having beaten Everton and Nottingham Forest in the league, as well as earning victories against Toulouse and Bournemouth. A 2-1 win over the Cherries was their most recent success as a late Darwin Nunez strike saw Liverpool progress to the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

Cody Gakpo had given Liverpool the lead at the Vitality Stadium, only for Justin Kluivert to equalise. But Nunez was the man of the moment to book the Reds with a last-eight tie against West Ham, who beat Arsenal in one of the shocks of the round. Here is the latest news from Anfield.

Owen's harsh Nunez claim

Michael Owen has admitted that Nunez's goal against Bournemouth "sums him up" after the forward scored a stunning long-range winner on the south coast.

Nunez had already been subject to ironic cheers from the home crowd as he failed to control Trent Alexander-Arnold's long pass. The 23-year-old managed to quieten them down almost instantly, though, as he curled the ball into the top corner moments later.

Jurgen Klopp's approach with Robert Lewandowski bodes well for Darwin Nunez

Darwin Nunez celebrates after scoring for Liverpool against Bournemouth (Getty Images)

It was a sublime finish from the Uruguayan, who has now scored in three successive matches for the Reds after his goals against Toulouse, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. Speaking on Twitter, ex-Liverpool forward Owen reflected on Nunez's strike and feels there is an "unbelievable" player in there.

"That goal from Darwin Nunez on Tuesday night sums him up at this stage of his career," Owen said on X. "There's an unbelievable player in there somewhere but he's still so rough around the edges."

Johnson's Gomez claim

Ex-Liverpool defender Glen Johnson believes Liverpool need to go out and sign another right-back as Joe Gomez isn't "good enough on the ball".

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez in action earlier this season (Getty Images)

He told Compare.bet: "Liverpool need a natural full-back to be playing at all times because of how important they are in Klopp's system. Gomez is a fantastic centre-half, but I don’t think he’s good enough on the ball or strong enough at passing to be creative and help the team further up the field to be playing at right-back, because it’s not his game.

"Of course, he’s good enough to be doing the job against certain teams but a top team like Liverpool needs natural full-backs playing for them."

Storm Ciaran impacts plans

Liverpool's players and staff were forced to travel home by bus after Storm Ciaran's impact grounded their planned flight back from Bournemouth.

Speaking after the match, Klopp said: "It was clear that it would be really storm wind, but it’s really different to play football in it. Now we drive home, long trip, but with going to the next round, it feels much better."

The wind affected the game and Bournemouth counterpart Andoni Iraola also agreed. He said: "We were struggling in the first half, it was really difficult with the wind," the Basque said. "We couldn’t kick it long and both teams were struggling to build up."

Klopp jokingly offered those at the post-match press conference the chance to travel back on the team bus, saying "we have food and television". The drive from Bournemouth to Liverpool would ordinarily take close to five hours, eating into the Reds' recovery time before the trip to Luton.