Darwin Nunez sends defiant message to critics as Liverpool pre-season struggles continue

Darwin Nunez has hit back at the criticism he has faced after struggling in Liverpool's opening two pre-season matches.

The Uruguayan played the final 30 minutes of the Reds' 4-0 defeat against Manchester United on Tuesday before he was subbed on at half-time against Crystal Palace as Jurgen Klopp effectively fielded two sides. However, Nunez was withdrawn after barely half an hour following an uninspiring display.

In the clash with United, Nunez missed a sitter after Mohamed Salah's effort hit the post, with the forward blazing over the rebound from eight yards. He went close to scoring late on with a rasping half-volley that was well kept out by Tom Heaton, but his unofficial debut ended in disappointment.

There was growing optimism that Nunez would improve against a weakened Palace side, but it was not meant to be as the 23-year-old failed to impress once again. He missed another glaring opportunity following Trent Alexander-Arnold's cutback, but in the defence of the striker, the cross took a slight deflection on the way through which meant he had to readjust his feet.

Nunez's passing was also off, and in a compilation on Twitter, it featured a poor attempt to head the ball down to a teammate – only finding a Palace player – as well as a lazy foul and a terrible pass which went straight out of play. He is well aware of the criticism flying his way despite making the £85m move from Benfica just last month.

He uploaded a series of images from the match against Palace to his Instagram, adding a finger-to-lips emoji as well as another of a man pointing at his ear. Nunez also posted the same pictures to Twitter with the caption 'resilience'.

Asked about the criticism his forward has been receiving, Klopp said: