Jurgen Klopp hailed Darwin Nunez's "special" contribution to Liverpool's win victory over Newcastle, and dismissed concerns about the striker's struggles in front of goal.
The Reds moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 4-2 win at Anfield on New Year's Day, with all six goals in the match coming after the break in what turned into a thrilling encounter.
Mohamed Salah missed a first-half penalty but scored twice in the second-half, including from the spot, while Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo also got on the scoresheet to ensure goals from Alexander Isak and Sven Botman did not frustrate Liverpool.
It was a remarkable attacking display from Liverpool, who registered an xG figure of 7.53, the most ever recorded in a Premier League match. Nunez played his part, having eight shots in the match and forcing Martin Dubravka into five saves, but he was once again wasteful when presented with clear-cut opportunities.
The Uruguayan did though play a key role in Liverpool's opening goal, squaring the ball to leave Salah a tap-in, and Klopp was full of praise for Nunez's contribution.
Diaz 🔗 Núñez 🔗 Salah
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 1, 2024
Mo Salah scores his 1️⃣5️⃣0️⃣th Premier League goal! 🔴💫 pic.twitter.com/0FkTUoTCbK
"What's extremely special is Darwin had a couple of chances, and in this moment I would say 99.9% of players would have tried to finish the situation off themselves," Klopp said.
"But he passed, he squared the ball. That's really special, I have to say. Wow."
Nunez ended his goal drought when he scored on Boxing Day against Burnley, but that remains the only time he has found the back of the net in his last 14 matches for Liverpool.
Despite a recurring problem when it comes to clinical finishing, Klopp was keen to point to the overall performance from his striker, who caused Newcastle's centre-back pairing huge problems.
"Football is a pretty simple game, put the ball in the back of the net, but besides that the boys have to do a lot of stuff," Klopp said.
"We were talking outside about the fact that it was 100% the right decision to bring Darwin today, because he kept [Sven] Botman and [Fabian] Schar together, that gave us the space for everything else. It is completely different if Cody is there.
"As long as Darwin has all these moments that he had today, it's all fine."
He added: "Nobody has to worry about Darwin. He played a really good game and decided the game in the right direction with an incredible, unselfish pass to Mo to score the goal."
