Liverpool boss Arne Slot was quick to comfort Darwin Nunez following his penalty miss in the Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
The visitors secured a 1-0 victory over the course of regular time, thanks to Ousmane Dembele’s goal in the first half, with no further goals scored in extra time. This led to a penalty shootout, with PSG leading 2-1 when Nunez took his turn. The Uruguayan forward aimed his shot to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s left, but the Italian goalkeeper managed to deflect it with both hands in what was a heavily lauded performance. His face said it all.
Before the next penalty was even taken, Nunez seemed visibly upset as he returned to the halfway line. Curtis Jones also had his attempt saved, before Desire Doue extended PSG‘s lead to an insurmountable 4-1.
As the PSG players and their traveling supporters erupted in celebration, Nunez looked heartbroken. However, Slot was right there, wrapping an arm around the striker and seemingly offering words of encouragement. It was a bold decision from Slot to place the under-fire Nunez second in the shootout order.
So it was no surprise to see the Liverpool boss immediately comfort the striker after his miss. Captain Virgil van Dijk was another who supported Nunez and Jones after the Champions League defeat.
Speaking to Amazon Prime, he said: “It was a very intense great game of football, I think to be part of it as well. It was totally there for Liverpool and what we showed in Paris and unfortunately we’re out on penalties and that is the reality.
(Image: Getty Images)
“I think in the first half we created dangerous moments and they have the quality as well, and then it comes down to penalties. It’s part of football, I said to the guys, obviously, you can be disappointed because we’re out of the competition, but chin up and get ready for the next challenge, a beautiful one on the weekend.”
On the Reds performance, Van Dijk added: “I think we were pretty good today as well, and you want to go as far as possible, but we knew when we drew PSG it was going to be very difficult. We saw in Paris when we struggled but we won, and today we saw a very good Liverpool side but we’re out of the competition.
“Today from the first second and then extra time, when fatigue kicks in for both sides, it becomes more open but especially regular time, we showed a very good game. We can speak about the game for ages but we’re out of the competition, that is the reality.”
