Arne Slot has responded to the criticism Darwin Nunez has received across social media, with the Liverpool boss rightly pointing out its fickle nature.
Nunez has been a big talking point this season having scored three goals in 19 games, with the No. 9 struggling to seize his opportunities.
He has his fair share of critics and social media has been used as a vessel to air frustrations, with Nunez then taking to it himself to pledge “resiliencia.”
During his press conference on Friday, Slot defended his striker and insisted he “adds something to the team,” then behind-closed-doors hit the nail on the head over social media criticism.
“The fans have a lot of love for him,” the Dutchman said of Nunez, via the Mail. “I heard something about social media criticism, but he will not be the first player who gets criticism on social media.
“That is what happens if you miss one or two chances.
“If we had lost the game (vs. Girona) then it would be that my substitutions or line-up were not good, that is what social media is all about.
“If you win, it’s all brilliant. If you lose, it’s all s***!”
It is an accurate assessment of social media, which can be a place of positivity one second and a pit of negativity the next, it is fickle and often an echo chamber.
There is value in connecting fans with players and vice-versa, but criticism can quickly cross the line into abuse with too many emboldened by hiding behind a keyboard.
On the role of supporters for Nunez, Slot said: “Maybe it’s because the fans support him so much, maybe he wants it too much to score that goal for himself and also for the fans because they have been very supportive.
“All our players feel the support of our fans, but he is definitely one of them.
“Mo is scoring so many goals he likes the support of the fans but doesn’t really need it at the moment.
“But what I like about fans, about special fans, is that they are not only supportive if it’s going really well for a player, but especially if he maybe needs that support – and that is what makes these fans of ours special, in my opinion.”
