'Why does he shoot?' – but stunning strike shows Nunez quality

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says he did not want Darwin Nunez to shoot before the Uruguayan struck a sensational goal in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

Nunez, making his first start under the Dutchman, collected the ball wide on the right, cut on to his left foot and sent a magnificent, curling drive into the far corner with eight minutes of the first half remaining.

The striker's stunning effort completed the scoring at Anfield after a quickfire Luis Diaz double had given Liverpool a 2-0 lead.

Slot said: "My first instinct when he shot was, 'why does he shoot?'. I would have said, 'why don't you keep on dribbling?'. He made the ball free and I think the defender was on the ground.

"But then it was a fraction of a second later when I saw the ball go in off the post. Then I was like, 'OK, maybe you are a better football player than I was in the past'."

Nunez, whose finishing has come under scrutiny during his time at the club, has now scored 21 times for Liverpool in the Premier League.

Saturday's effort was his first for the club in five months and 17 days, since a 3-1 win over Sheffield United last season.

It was not just his goal against Bournemouth that caught his manager's eye, though. Nunez carried out his defensive duties diligently, registering more tackles than any other player on the pitch apart from team-mate Alexis Mac Allister.

"Of course, I play a striker because I like him to score goals – but it also helps if you keep a clean sheet," added Slot, whose side top the table on goal difference from Manchester City and Aston Villa. "[In] keeping a clean sheet, Darwin was also involved."

Nunez had played just 74 minutes under Slot before Saturday, but his fine all-round display will boost his chances of featuring more prominently in the coming weeks, as Liverpool juggle Premier League, Carabao Cup and Champions League commitments.

Liverpool welcome West Ham to Anfield in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday, before travelling to Wolves in their next league game on Saturday.

They return to Champions League action with a home match against Bologna on Wednesday 2 October.

"I think you get consistency by two things," Slot replied when asked how the 25-year-old can establish himself as a more regular starter. "You get it by work-rate and you get it by team performance.

"If the team performance is not consistent, it's so difficult for an individual to be consistent as well. We have to create our habits day by day on the training ground.

"[Nunez] showed a good game today. Maybe he can show it again on Wednesday."