Darwin Nunez 'desperate' as Liverpool sent strong…

Darwin Nunez 'desperate' as Liverpool sent strong Anfield message ahead of return

James Milner has urged Liverpool to once again start building 'Fortress Anfield' as he underlined the importance of unpredictability from Jurgen Klopp's side this season.

The Reds will look to bounce back from their disappointing opening day draw at Fulham when they entertain Crystal Palace in their first home game of the campaign on Monday.

Klopp's men were unbeaten at home in the top flight last season with Palace - who began with a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at Selhurst Park - still the last side to beat Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League in front of paying supporters, a run stretching back to April 2017.

And Milner said: "Home games are always very important, especially the first one, to try and build that fortress mentality. It's not going to be easy. Palace didn't get three points in their first game either. We have to try to get the performances where we want to, it wasn't there at the weekend so hopefully we can improve on that.

"It was disappointing. We probably didn't deserve to win the game. You could look at the result as a positive I suppose as we weren't good enough and got a point out of it. It was always going to be a tough place to go but we didn't play to the level we would like.

"But that happens sometimes, it's how you bounce back. Obviously we didn't get the result we wanted in the first game of the season but it's down to us to rectify that. We have been working hard in training this week and will continue to going into the next game."

Milner, speaking to Sky Sports, added: "You can't win any trophies in the first part of the season but you can get yourself into position. It's important that we start well and we've had a pre-season and come through that and people are trying to find their feet. It's the same for every team."

Milner impressed when coming off the bench at Craven Cottage last Saturday, while another substitute, Darwin Nunez, helped salvage a 2-2 draw with a goal and an assist. The £64million man also netted during a late cameo in the Community Shield triumph over Manchester City the previous weekend and is pressing hard for a starting role against Palace.

And Milner said of Nunez: "I think he'll have an impact the whole time he's here, to be honest. Since he's been here, he's (been) impressive on the field, worked hard, makes great runs (and) is desperate to put his head on the ball in the box.

"If you put a ball in there, he'll do everything he can to get on the end of it - good finisher, both feet and he's different to the other boys up there. We've already got some very exciting attacking players who can cause problems, so he's a great addition. He'll be fantastic for us."

Milner added to liverpoolfc.com: "You want options up there, you want to cause people problems, you want to have options to play different ways because obviously teams are going to watch us and try to stop us, so it's important we can do everything. With the options we have up there, I think we have a fantastic mix."

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