After Darwin Nunez made a terrible miss during Liverpool’s match against Aston Villa on Wednesday night, fans of the club pointed the finger at a different player.
One week after giving up a last-minute goal against Everton in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, the Reds once again played out a 2-2 draw away from home. This is the second game in a row that the Reds have experienced a loss of points away from home.
During the first half, Mo Salah scored a goal for Liverpool, giving them a 1-0 lead. However, Villa completed the first half with a strong performance and turned the tide of the match with goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins.
Just after the hour mark, Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the equaliser, and not too much longer after Liverpool had a fantastic opportunity to take a 3-2 lead in the game.
A few moments earlier, Nunez had been substituted for Diogo Jota, and despite the fact that he was presented with an open goal, he was unable to capitalise on the opportunity by shooting a golden shot with his left foot over the bar.
Manager Arne Slot was left in a state of disbelief after the Uruguayan managed to miss at the far post. The Uruguayan has been guilty of wasteful finishing ever since he signed from Benfica in 2022, but he managed to miss at the far post instead.
Nevertheless, a number of Liverpool supporters pointed the finger at the midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who made the decision to cross the ball to Nunez after Conor Bradley placed him in a position where he could be played through from behind.
They were of the opinion that the Hungarian should have taken another shot rather than attempting to become a provider.
A particular individual stated: “Still don’t get why Szoboszlai didn’t shoot.”
“The Nunez miss was terrible, but Dom’s decision was weird,” said another person who concurred with the statement.
And a third person said, “He bottled it.” lacked self-assurance and composure, and didn’t feel like doing it. I have witnessed a great number of players fail to make those shots when they are running at full speed with a defender by their side and the ball is fizzed across.
“An enormous chasm to the left of Martinez,” remarked a fourth individual. Also, it is perfectly set up. The more difficult opponent is Darwin.
One more user wrote, “Szoboszlai shoots in training, but when it comes to an actual game, he chickens out.” This was the fifth and final user to provide feedback.
A response from Arne Slot
In his analysis of the missed opportunity for TNT Sports, the legendary Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler expressed the same opinion that Szoboszlai ought to have shot with his shot.
Slot, on the other hand, was not on the same page and did not have any complaints about Szoboszlai’s decision to square it, which was in support of the former RB Leipzig player.
“Szoboszlai made the ideal decision to pass it,” Slot stated during his press conference. “It was the right decision.”
“It was a significant opportunity. Extremely unfortunate, and I had hoped that he would have been able to get another one, because a player like him probably wouldn’t miss two chances in a row, and he came very close to scoring after that.
The return of Liverpool to action will take place on Sunday, when they will travel to the Etihad Stadium to play Manchester City in a match that is of the utmost importance for both teams.
