Liverpool star slapped with 5/10 rating for international performance despite ‘spectacular’ play

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The Uruguayan press have reacted to Darwin Nunez’s performance for Uruguay at the 2024 Copa America.

Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez has been one of the most impressive players for his national team, particularly since former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa was appointed manager of the South American side.

Nunez had scored seven goals in seven consecutive national team games heading into Uruguay’s game against the United States.

It was a 1-0 win to Uruguay thanks to a Mathias Olivera goal late on as Uruguay continued their good form but the United States have now been knocked out of the Copa America.

Uruguayan media comment on Nunez’s performance

Whilst the forward did not score the winning goal for his country, it was another busy performance from the centre-forward.

Uruguayan outlet El Observador awarded Nunez a 5/10, which sounds low initially but then praised the performance of the former SL Benfica striker.

“He started by demanding a lot from the rival centre-backs,” El Observador wrote. “On 8 minutes he made a spectacular play in which he only made a mistake in the final pass to Maximiliano Araújo.

“When he came off for a strong blow to the head, at 32 minutes, he played quickly after a foul on Nicolás De la Cruz, and left Nahitan Nández alone for the goal, but the full-back missed it.

“On the 37th minute, he came close to scoring after a great play by Cristian Olivera. He committed a very hard foul at the 45th minute and received a yellow card.”

Bielsa explains how to get best out of Nunez

Nunez has had a hard time of things since moving to Liverpool from Benfica in the summer of 2022, but under Bielsa he seems to be excelling.

In a press conference for Uruguay, the 68-year-old was asked about Nunez and how to get the best out of him.

“Darwin is a player who doesn’t need any kind of support,” Bielsa told a press conference.

“You have to know what it means to play for Liverpool and who he is competing with, and what his cycles were like, when he scored, when he stopped scoring, why he stopped scoring. These are things that he manages in proportion to the place he occupies in the football world.

“The only thing that worries me is that… he is able to do what he does in an extraordinary way as many times as possible, which is converting, finishing the moves, but choosing where he should direct the shot that provides the right conditions to execute it.”