Jurgen Klopp compares Nunez to Lewandowski

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Jurgen Klopp has compared Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez’s current struggles to that of a young Robert Lewandowski at Borussia Dortmund.

Jurgen Klopp compares Nunez to Lewandowski and explains the’similarities’ between strikers

Nunez has been praised in some quarters following his £85 million move from Benfica to Anfield.

The Uruguayan has nine goals in 19 games, but his finishing and poise in front of goal have been called into question.

Nunez squandered several golden opportunities in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day, but Klopp believes this is part of the process.

The Reds manager uses former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski to demonstrate how raw, unpolished talent can often appear sloppy at first.

Poland’s star striker Lewandowski scored eight goals in his first season at Dortmund in 2010/11 before going on to become one of the greatest strikers of all time.

“To be honest, there are a lot of similarities (with Nunez),” Jurgen Klopp said.

“I believe Lewi would tell the same story. We had shooting sessions where he did not complete one.

“We had bets all the time for €10 where I said, ‘If you score more than 10 times I will pay you €10 and if you don’t you have to pay me’. My pocket was stuffed with cash.

“When I first started playing Lewandowski, journalists asked me why (Lucas) Barrios wasn’t playing.

“Lucas Barrios had 16 goals that season and was the No.9 on our team. As a result, Lewi began to play in various positions in order to adapt to different situations. Because he didn’t play No.9, the Polish journalists weren’t too fond of me. At 10, he was in a 4-2-3-1. At the time, I thought it was a no-brainer to help him improve his game.”

Klopp insists Nunez has shown enough promise to justify the club’s large investment in the 23-year-old.

“It’s all about staying calm,” the German added. Stay calm when you see the potential.

“It’s so difficult in this world we live in. I don’t mean this personally, but because you (the media) have been asking and making a big deal out of everything, followed by the supporters, social media, and other such things. The more you can turn it off, the better.

“I believe we can all agree that the potential is obvious. Is everything in order? No. When you see the second chance, the big chance in the second half (against Aston Villa), he can run a little bit on an angle and then he has a free choice, in my opinion.

“It’s all about staying calm,” the German added. Stay calm when you see the potential.

“However, it’s all coming. You do it this way, then the next time you do it that way. This happened to me with Lewi, but it is not unique to him. He is the obvious parallel. The team is completely convinced, which is fantastic.”

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