Neil Warnock believes Liverpool would have advanced to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals if they had Erling Haaland in charge instead of Darwin Nunez last night.
The Reds were beaten 3-2 by Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad, but if Jurgen Klopp’s new striker had managed to convert one of his three big chances, it might well have been a different story.
“If Liverpool had Haaland they would have won easily, the chances Nunez missed I can’t believe the chances he missed,” the 74-year-old told talkSPORT (via Liverpool Echo).
“But I thought it was a good sign for Liverpool, the best they had seen for a long time and I thought with the lack of players they might try to get something at the back in January if they can. I just thought it was promising for Liverpool.”
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The Uruguayan has certainly had his critics since joining from SL Benfica for an initial £64m in the summer.
Despite being shown a red card on his Anfield debut and his performances being somewhat inconsistent, he nevertheless recorded nine goals and three assists in 19 appearances (in all competitions).
Jamie Carragher called our No. 27 a ‘diamond in the rough’ after last night’s match, while Klopp’s reaction to one of Nunez’s missed chances was striking.
In our last game before the World Cup, the 23-year-old scored a brace, but it was far from his prime against the Sky Blues.
Our German tactician is eager to bolster his midfield options in the coming windows, but it’s interesting to hear that Warnock recognizes that we need some fresh faces in defence.
However, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibou Konate were all absent against the Cityzens, so we’re not too alarmed by our lackluster defensive performance.
Let’s hope we get back to winning ways when we travel to Villa Park on Boxing Day.
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