With Darwin Nunez becoming a regular fixture in Liverpool’s lineup and performing consistently, Jurgen Klopp has noted the “main difference.”

While Nunez showed his quality sporadically throughout his first campaign at Anfield, towards the latter months he fell out of favour under Klopp.

The manager regularly explained how the “ticket” into his side was work off the ball, along with that on it, which the Uruguayan clearly lacked.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, September 24, 2023: Liverpool's Darwin Núñez during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and West Ham United FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

However, Nunez is now a more convincing presence in the final third, and Sunday saw him make it three starts in the last four games while scoring his fourth goal of the season.

Seemingly first-choice striker wearing the No. 9 shirt, Klopp explained after the 3-1 win over Wolves that his defensive work was the “main difference.”

“[He has made] massive steps in the last few weeks,” the manager told reporters.

 

“He’s a threat. You all saw the goal, it was probably pretty good, right? That was really strong.

“He was always available for us. It’s super important that we have now kind of a ball-player.

“Chip the ball, get it on the chest, from there – like we scored the third [against] Wolves for example, I think it was a similar situation – it’s super important for us.

“And the defensive work he puts in now, that’s probably the main difference.

“He always wanted it, but he was less coordinated. Now it looks much better, we found a way that we can do it around him.

“Curtis and Dom help there a lot, with how flexible they are in that way. Really good, absolutely.”