As Jürgen Klopp strapped in for his post-match press conference, Darwin Núñez’s sublime strike which steered Liverpool through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals where they host West Ham, fresh in his mind, he glanced up at the televisions screens at the back of the room showing the tail-end of Manchester United’s home defeat to Newcastle. “Oooh,” Klopp said, pulling a face as he digested the 3-0 scoreline. Which explains his delight at Liverpool, nine-time winners of the competition, progressing amid filthy conditions.
Midway through the first half, with his snood practically concealing his face in the Liverpool dugout, it was hard to believe Núñez was braced for battle. But Núñez entered on the hour and 10 minutes later registered a magnificent winner to earn a spot in the last eight. Justin Kluivert cancelled out Cody Gakpo’s first-half strike with a simple finish of his own but Núñez’s solo effort was worthy of settling any game.
