Luis Suarez and Fede Valverde wowed by Darwin Nunez’s match-winning brace for Liverpool against Newcastle
Darwin Nunez's late brace off the bench for Liverpool at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday (August 27) impressed his Uruguay teammates Luis Suarez and Fede Valverde.
Coming on as a 77th-minute substitute with his team a goal and a man down following Virgil van Dijk's 27th-minute red card, Nunez starred with a match-winning performance.
Nunez pounced on a Jota pass nine minutes from time to restore parity for the 10-man visitors. He was not done for the night. Three minutes into stoppage time, the Uruguayan scored from Mohamed Salah's pass to help seal a memorable win.
The 24-year-old posted a picture of himself in action against the Magpies and captioned it:
"Never give up! Great team effort! Thanks for the support!"
Nunez's Uruguay teammates Luis Suarez and Fede Valverde replied to the post with a few emoticons.
Former Reds player Dirk Kuyt said on BBC Radio 5 Live about Nunez's performance against the Magpies:
"Jurgen Klopp has so many attacking options now. That is what you want as a manager. Everyone can see Nunez's talent, he is slightly different to the other players up front. He loves to make runs in behind defenders and he is a very clinical finisher."
Nunez now has two goals in three league games this season, coming off the bench in all three outings.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hails Darwin Nunez
In a hard-fought Premier League clash at St. James' Park on Sunday, Liverpool bossed early proceedings before Anthony Gordon fired the hosts in front. Pouncing on a loose pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, the 22-year-old broke the deadlock in the 25th minute.
Just three minutes later, the visitors saw their captain Virgil van Dyk sent off for a 'last-man challenge' on Alexander Isak. Despite the setback, manager Jurgen Klopp rung in the changes brilliantly to take home all three points.
One of them was, of course, Nunez, and Klopp hailed the Uruguayan in his press conference (via Liverpoolfc):
"He is not happy for not starting, that’s how it is but somebody, in this early stage of the season, cannot start. We cannot have 11 players and play them all the time, so we need to find stability is the discussion."
He added:
"His key strengths are exceptional, absolutely, but we need to find stability as well. So, for him, everything will be fine, but it is just maybe it had to be like this – if he wouldn’t have been that angry and started the game today, he wouldn’t score two in the last six minutes or whatever, so let’s take it like that."
The Reds will next be in action at home to Aston Villa on Sunday (September 3) as they look to stay unbeaten. After three games, they trail leaders Manchester City (9) by two points.