Luis Suarez has hailed after the Uruguayan missed a sitter in - and then copped it from his manager.

The Reds drew 2-2 at Villa Park but in the second-half Nunez was presented with an excellent chance. Dominik Szoboszlai squared it to the forward, who appeared from the bench, but he missed the target from close range despite no goalkeeper being in sight.

Liverpool's draw ultimately saw them open the door slightly for and continued the narrative around Nunez, who has been criticised for being wasteful in front of goal throughout his time at Anfield.

was less than impressed with the forward, not for his glaring miss, but for the attitude he showed after missing from close range. The Dutchman claimed his work rate dropped off in the period after his blunder but Suarez has leapt to Nunez's defence.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Nunez maintained on social media that he would "give it my all until the last day I'm here in ". Suarez, who was a huge success at Anfield, replied to the forward's post with a glowing endorsement of his attitude and character.

His fellow Uruguayan said: "Of course, GOAL-SCORER, that's how I love you! That's the attitude, always positive. Let's go up!"

Liverpool's No 9, who joined from Benfica in 2022 in a club-record deal, has scored six times in 35 appearances this term and is by no means a regular starter at Anfield. There is talk of a summer exit for the Uruguayan as the Reds consider reshaping their attack.

Slot was questioned on Nunez's display and said: "I can accept every miss, ­especially from a player who scored two very important goals away at Brentford and that scored for us in the home game against Villa [in ­November]. I would prefer him to score but the word 'chance' says it all.

"It is a chance. It is not 100 per cent that it goes in the goal. I can accept misses, but what is harder for me to accept is his behaviour after the chance. It got too much in his head, he was not the usual ­Darwin who works his socks off and makes sure he helps the team.

"He was too ­disappointed that he missed that chance. Maybe we will never know, but maybe that is why he was just a fraction short the moment afterwards."

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our