All eyes were on Darwin Nunez during Liverpool's clash with Manchester United in the Bangkok Century Cup in Thailand following the striker's arrival from Benfica in a £64 million ($79m) deal. The Uruguayan had an eventful cameo in the Reds' 4-0 defeat that included an uncharacteristic miss from close range as he toiled in the scorching heat.
Nunez looked visibly rusty having only just linked up with the squad following his summer holidays, but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp backed the new signing post-match and praised his "speed" and "aggression".
What did Klopp say about Nunez's debut?
Klopp was excited to see Nunez linking up with his teammates and feels that he has the ideal traits of a typical number nine.
"He is a number nine who can play on the wing as well,” the manager stated. “We will see where he plays.
“But what you could see is the boys were already searching for him. It was his third session (since arriving for pre-season training) and I think after the third sprint his lungs were ready to explode. We nearly killed him these balls but he offered the runs and the boys wanted to pass the ball, that is for sure one of his strengths. He was dangerous.
“His profile is a proper number nine so that’s helpful with speed and aggression and using his body.”
Nunez braved 'massive blisters' in Man Utd defeat
Nunez was not at 100 per cent physically during Tuesday evening's contest. Klopp confirmed that the striker has "massive blisters" on his feet and took to the pitch with niggling pain.
The German boss also addressed a testing debut for Fabio Carvalho, who joined the Reds from Fulham earlier this summer, as he added: "I understand we have to talk about it that early, but for us it makes absolutely no sense.
"Fabio is here for eight days and Darwin for three days and has massive blisters on his feet, and we’ve all experienced that in our life and it doesn’t feel any different for a professional football player, it is really painful."
When will Liverpool play next?
Liverpool's pre-season schedule will continue when they travel to Singapore for a Standard Chartered Cup clash against familiar Premier League foes Crystal Palace on July 15, before then taking on RB Leipzig on July 21.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)