The Anfield newboy played a crucial role in Liverpool’s Community Shield victory over Man City.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has advised Darwin Nunez to stay unfazed by outside criticism after his brilliant performance in the Community Shield.
Nunez came off the bench to win a penalty, which Mohamed Salah converted to make it 2-1 for Liverpool in the second half.
The newly signed forward then completed his impressive performance by scoring the Reds’ third goal with a header.
The promising official debut came after Nunez received criticism for his displays during the pre-season. However, Van Dijk believes Nunez should already see himself as an important part of Liverpool’s squad.
“He’s important. He’s difficult to play against and hopefully he can show it for the rest of the season,” Van Dijk told reporters.
“We all help him in some ways and make sure that he’s comfortable, he’s calm and just work, and don’t focus on what the outside world has to say because everyone has to say something these days. So head down, work and be important for the club.
“I don’t speak Spanish, so I’m not saying anything to him at the moment, but we have plenty of Spanish speakers in the team and I know for a fact that they help him, and I don’t see anything that bothers him at the moment.
“But we will see, everyone has something to say because there are so platforms to do it. So it can hit you but it shouldn’t. Just enjoy your game, enjoy the group, enjoy the club, because we are very blessed to be able to play for Liverpool.”
Liverpool will play their last pre-season friendly against Strasbourg on Sunday. The Reds will then meet Fulham in their Premier League opener on August 6.
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