Virgil van Dijk and manager Arne Slot openly criticized Darwin Nunez’s costly miss and subsequent work rate after Liverpool dropped points against Aston Villa in a previous encounter.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk publicly attributed the team’s failure to secure victory against Aston Villa last season to a high-profile miss from a teammate, according to The Mirror.
The incident, which occurred in a February fixture where the match ended 2-2, saw striker Darwin Nunez squander a golden opportunity late in the game.
The match at Villa Park saw Liverpool take the lead through Mohamed Salah, only for Villa to respond with goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins.
Trent Alexander-Arnold levelled the score, but Nunez’s miss shortly after coming on as a substitute left Liverpool settling for a point.
Van Dijk referenced the sitter in his post-match interview, stating: “We are a bit disappointed but we fight. We had chances to win the game, took a bit of a risk at the end – so it got more open at times.”
He added that his disappointment stemmed from failing to convert a crucial opportunity: “We should have scored 3-2, but credit to Aston Villa, they made it very difficult.”
The defender also expressed frustration over the concession of an earlier goal: “Disappointing to concede from a set-piece.”
Manager Arne Slot also criticized Nunez, though his focus was on the striker’s subsequent drop in work rate rather than the miss itself. Slot explained he would tell Nunez:
“You can miss a chance but you cannot miss out on work rate,” noting the miss “got too much in his head.” Nunez, 26, was sold to Al-Hilal in the summer following Slot’s assessment.