National media drools over Darwin Nunez in Liverpool win v Southampton | OneFootball

Liverpool staged a dramatic comeback to earn a 3-1 win against Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon at Anfield.

It is a crucial week for the Reds, and Arne Slot described the victory as “the first of three finals”. Liverpool have passed the test to go 16 points clear at the top of the table.

In that first half, Liverpool were pretty flat, and one could feel that complacency and fatigue were creeping into their game. It was bound to happen at some point.

There was a mix-up between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson (the two best players in their respective positions) that led to the opening goal.

Slot, who was watching the game from the stands as he was serving his second match suspension, made three changes at the break, and it worked for the Reds.

Darwin Nunez scored a brilliant opening goal and earned a penalty, from which Mohamed Salah scored. The Egyptian king added another from the spot to take his goal tally to 184 in the Premier League, making him the fifth-leading all-time goalscorer.

Many thought that Slot would take Nunez off, but he repaid his manager’s faith with a terrific second-half display. The Daily Mail was full of praise for the Uruguayan striker, and they gave him an 8/10 rating.

The newspaper wrote: “Nunez has had a hard time recently with Slot calling him out for a subpar workrate but the last few days have been perfect: a superb assist in the Parc des Princes, a thunderous finish and winning a penalty. For good measure, he put finger to lips to silence the away end who were earlier taunting him.”

Nunez was subject to interest from Saudi Pro League clubs in the January transfer window, but Liverpool rejected all offers. However, doubts remain over his long-term future at the club, and there is a possibility that Liverpool might cash in on him if they receive a massive offer.

He is showing signs of resurgence towards the end of the season, and the goal will give him a lot of confidence. Liverpool will now face PSG in the second leg at Anfield, where a draw will take them to the last eight.