Uruguay international Darwin Nunez’s parting gift to Liverpool before his departure to the World Cup was two goals and a match-winning performance in the 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Manager Jurgen Klopp, watching on from the back of the first tier of the Main Stand due to his one-match touchline ban but in constant communication with coach Vitor Matos, would have enjoyed his different perspective as the forward made it seven goals in his last 10 appearances.
A fourth successive win in all competitions saw his side enter the mid-season break on an upward curve.
Roberto Firmino’s sixth-minute header gave them the ideal start and although Che Adams equalised, as soon as Nunez made his mark Nathan Jones’ first match in charge after replacing the sacked Ralph Hasenhuttl turned into an uphill struggle.
Five of Liverpool’s starting line-up are heading to Qatar next week and two others but it was Nunez who took the opportunity to sharpen himself up for Uruguay’s challenge.
Both goals were instinctive and predatory; a first-time side-foot volley and sliding finish inside the six-yard area.
The 23-year-old has taken time to bed in to his new surroundings following his potential club-record transfer from Benfica but has noticeably gone up a gear in the last month.
It takes a certain kind of player to be able to overshadow Mohamed Salah, who had 10 in 10 before this game, but Nunez has all the attributes, albeit it different from the Egyptian, to ensure it is no longer a one-man show.
He has also extinguished all the questions about allowing Sadio Mane to depart to Bayern Munich, with his best recent performances coming in the left-sided role – again played in a completely different way to the Senegal international.
That he was helped by some rather naïve Southampton defending would not give full credit to his performance, which was direct, aggressive and clinical.
Visiting boss Jones opted for a 4-4-2 formation for his Premier League debut but his side were far too open and they were frequently carved apart.
Even Southampton’s first goal at Anfield since 2015 – after Adams took advantage of Virgil van Dijk switching off to head home a ninth-minute equaliser from James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick – could not paper over the cracks.
Liverpool had taken the lead three minutes earlier when, after one-time transfer target Duje Caleta-Car had pulled down Salah on the counter-attack, Firmino deposited a flicked header inside the far post from Andy Robertson’s inswinging free-kick.
Nunez warmed himself up with a cross to Salah which saw Gavin Bazunu superbly repel a first-time shot, although the goalkeeper was powerless to prevent Liverpool’s second.
Harvey Elliott, the 19-year-old who continues to grow in a right-sided midfield role, played in Nunez on the left of the penalty area and cleverly lifted over a pass which was volleyed home with aplomb.
The best move of the match, started by Thiago nicking the ball on the edge of Liverpool’s penalty area before it was transferred through Nunez and Elliott, deserved a goal as the Uruguayan backheeled to Firmino only for his close-range shot to be charged down.
But another exquisite move did breach Southampton in the 42nd minute as Robertson raced onto Thiago’s precise through-ball to cross low for Nunez to divert past Bazunu.
With that assist the Scotland captain equalled former Everton left-back Leighton Baines’ record of 53 for the most Premier League assists by a defender.
So open were Southampton it appeared Liverpool could have made the score anything they wanted in the second half but to their credit the visitors rallied and Alisson Becker was the busier of the two goalkeepers.
The Brazil international stuck out a hand to deny Mohamed Elyounoussi from close range, then stopped substitute Samuel Edozie with his leg – either side of Salah having a penalty claim turned down as he bore down on Bazunu – before producing a reflex stop from another Adams header.
Veteran midfielder James Milner’s introduction for his 600th Premier League appearance, only the fourth player to reach the mark in the competition’s history, completed day of positives.
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
POWERWASH%20SIMULATOR
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Seven%20Winters%20in%20Tehran
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Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
