1/10: French media mercilessly savage Liverpool player who lost 5 duels against PSG | OneFootball

One Liverpool player was shown absolutely no mercy by some French media outlets after the Reds’ Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

On a night of fine margins – as Daniel Sturridge put it – the tie was settled by a penalty shootout in which Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones unfortunately saw thier spot kicks saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma; and the Uruguayan striker was pilloried in some quarters for his overall performance after replacing Diogo Jota in the 73rd minute.

Nunez subjected to brutal player ratings

While the Liverpool Echo handed him a somewhat respectable 5/10 rating, citing how he ‘became an instant menace’ when he entered the pitch, Get French Football News were harsher with their 3/10 score as he was ‘found wanting’ with his decision-making.

However, the cruellest verdict of all came from French outlet Homme du Match, who sought to ridicule the Liverpool centre-forward with a hideous 1/10 rating as they thundered: “A completely missed entry into the game, where he constantly chose the wrong option. His missed penalty reflects his performance.”

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

One of those nights for Nunez, sadly

Sadly for Nunez, it was one of those nights where nothing seemed to go right for him.

It was the right call by Arne Slot to throw him in at a time when Liverpool needed a goal to win the tie after Ousmane Dembele’s early strike, and Diogo Jota didn’t look like providing it. While the Uruguayan’s presence might’ve given PSG something to consider, he was still culpable of a few galling moments.

His decision-making in the final third was indeed flawed, no more so than when he chased after a loose ball and then stopped in the mistaken belief that he was offside, when in fact he wasn’t ahead of the last defender and could’ve initiated an attack for the Reds, whose collective performance was lauded by their head coach.

Nunez’s lack of impact was characterised by him completing only five of his eight passes in 47 minutes on the pitch and losing five of his eight duels, while he also failed to have a shot prior to the penalty shootout (Sofascore).

Unfortunately his night will be remembered for his tame spot kick, which lacked conviction and was easily saved by Donnarumma, but the all too predictable personal backlash against our number 9 from some social media users is completely unjustified and over the top.

Hopefully the 25-year-old can make amends with a decisive contribution against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. As he showed with his two-goal salvo at St James’ Park last season, he has previous when it comes to punishing the Magpies!