Klopp and Alexander-Arnold praise 'top player' Nunez for starring role in Community Shield

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and defender Trent Alexander-Arnold were full of praise for new striker Darwin Nunez after the Uruguayan played a starring role in the 3-1 FA Community Shield victory over Manchester City on Saturday.

In a match billed as a showdown between the two clubs' new expensive strikers, it was Nunez who stole the headlines ahead of City's Erling Haaland.

Nunez, signed for a club record fee from Benfica this summer, came off the bench to inspire Liverpool to victory. Replacing Roberto Firmino in the 59th minute with the score level at 1-1 after Julian Alvarez had cancelled out Trent Alexander-Arnold's first-half opener, Nunez won the penalty Mohamed Salah converted to regain Liverpool's lead before scoring deep in injury time.

"I think Darwin would have been fine even without scoring the third one because the penalty was Millie's (James Milner's) cross and his header," Klopp said.

"You could see in his face, you could see in the face of all his teammates how happy the boys are for him and that’s a really good sign after that short period of time that he is with us.

"Probably one of the highlights of the game, as good as we were, was the impact from the bench. Everybody who came on was immediately in the game - very, very, very helpful."

Alexander-Arnold, 23, joined his manager in praising Nunez and said the 23-year-old forward has settled quickly within the Liverpool squad.

"It has got to be up there," the England full-back said when asked to assess Nunez's impact. "He won the penalty, scored a goal and looked very lively. He's been bought in to score goals and he's proved he can do that today.

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Adrian - 5. The Spaniard made a good save from Haaland but his distribution was sloppy.