Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that he substituted Darwin Nunez off at half-time against Brentford because the forward “felt something”. The Reds won 4-1 in west London to keep their Premier League title dreams very much alive but lost both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota to injuries in the first half.
Jota was forced off on a stretcher shortly after setting Nunez up for a beautiful chip to make it 1-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium. The Uruguayan centre-forward was then withdrawn himself at half-time, with Cody Gakpo taking his place.
And Klopp has revealed that Nunez’s withdrawal was also injury-related – although the Merseyside club are not yet sure whether he has a serious issue or not. Jones and Jota were both spotted leaving the stadium on crutches, while Nunez left the ground limp-free.
Explaining Nunez’s withdrawal to TNT Sports, Klopp said: “Darwin, we are not sure if he has something or not. He felt a little bit. We just then, after already having two players off and can only make a sub at one time after half-time, that’s why we decided to bring Cody. So we will see.”
The Liverpool manager added: “Mixed emotions obviously because we lost players and I don’t know how serious it is. It doesn’t look great for either of them [Jones and Jota]. But we cannot change that anymore.
“What the boys did after 15-20 minutes was absolutely exceptional. It’s a tricky place against a team who are set up to annoy you and get set-pieces. From a specific moment on, we played a really good game.
“Ali as well, we don’t know what he has. Today, I didn’t see it back but I think it was a knock on Curtis, whatever that means to his leg we’ll see. It was a challenge with Diogo. It’s not easy in the moment.”
He added in his post-match press conference: “That Curtis cannot play tells you something because he would have played on at all costs. Jota looks the worst. The pictures don’t look great. I took Darwin off. He felt something.
“We had to push the brake. We are not sure if he has something or not. Are we having bad luck with injuries? Definitely.”
The fresh injury setbacks come after Alisson sustained a hamstring injury in training on Friday, which Liverpool still do not know the full extent of. Thiago Alcantara, Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Ben Doak and Stefan Bajcetic are also all injured with only Szoboszlai having a chance of returning next week.
Jones left the stadium with his left foot in a protective boot while also using crutches, while Jota had his left knee in a brace while leaving on crutches. The pair look set for a spell on the sidelines at the worst possible time.
Liverpool have a Carabao Cup final to look forward to next Sunday against Chelsea at Wembley, and they also face Luton at Anfield in the Premier League on Wednesday night. A mammoth contest with title rivals Manchester City is also on the horizon, on Sunday March 10.
After Nunez had put Liverpool 1-0 up at the break at Brentford, Alexis Mac Allister doubled the lead from Mohamed Salah’s pass before the Egyptian made it 3-0. Ivan Toney pulled one back for the Bees but substitute Gakpo killed the game off late on.
Goalscorer Mac Allister told TNT Sports: “You can see how much it means to us to win football games – that’s what we try, what we want. I think we came to a place where everyone knows that it is very tough. We are very happy to get the three points and we move on.”
While captain Virgil van Dijk, after his 250th Liverpool appearance, added: “Very pleased. It was a tough game – even before all the injuries before the game. They make it difficult for you. The set-pieces and the directness.
“We found a way even with all the injuries. Now it’s time to recover, make sure you do the right things in order to be ready for Wednesday. I’m looking forward to it already. We go for it.”
