“Should’ve played”, “Robbed” – Liverpool fans left disappointed as 23-year-old star fails to make starting line-up against Man City
Liverpool fans were disappointed to see Darwin Nunez benched for their Community Shield clash against Manchester City today (July 30).
Jurgen Klopp's side are looking to win their third silverware of the 2022 calendar year and their first in the cup since 2006.
However, fans are afraid that the Reds' task will be cut out without new signing Nunez, who was named on the bench instead.
The Uruguayan, who was signed on a staggering £85 million transfer from Benfica this summer, has shown great promise in their pre-season.
Our line-up for today’s #CommunityShield meeting with @ManCity 📋
He famously struck four goals in their 5-0 drubbing of RB Leipzig a few weeks ago, demonstrating his ruthless instincts and prolific finishing ability.
Many had expected Nunez to start in the Community Shield too. However, he only made it to the bench, with Klopp starting Roberto Firmino as the centre-forward instead.
This has upset the fans, as they clearly didn't see this coming and vehemently felt the 23-year-old should've been in the XI over the Brazilian.
One fan also suggested that the Merseysiders should've played Nunez as the striker with Firmino in the (attacking) midfield, given his ability to pull strings from there.
Ahead of the highly anticipated kick-off, here are some of the best Twitter reactions to Nunez getting omitted from Liverpool's starting XI:
@LFC @ManCity No Darwin😓
@LFC @ManCity Konate and nunez robbed
@LFC @ManCity Nuñéz benched…
@LFC @ManCity Why not start Nunez and put firmino in midfield??
@LFC @ManCity Should’ve played Nunez over Firmino but anyways, Win
@LFC @ManCity free nunez
wanted nunez to start but ok up the reds twitter.com/LFC/status/155…
Liverpool hoping to get third time lucky
Liverpool play in the Community Shield for the third time in four years. They will be looking to finally secure the trophy after losing out in their previous two attempts under Klopp.
Manchester City got the better of them 5-4 on penalties in 2019 following a 1-1 draw in normal time. The Reds then experienced an identical defeat to Arsenal the following year.
It's the only trophy that's missing from Klopp's cabinet as the German has won every other major title with the club in the last few years.
Liverpool can expect another tough challenge from the Sky Blues, though, as they're armed with Erling Haaland, who's set to make his club debut today.
This is also their first official game since Sadio Mane left for Bayern Munich, but Luis Diaz is repping the left flank.