Darwin Nunez is adjusting to life as Liverpool's new number nine as they remould their attack for the coming season.Following the departure of Sadio Mane and the arrivals of Nunez and Luis Diaz earlier in the year, the Reds have one eye on the future and are bolstering their squad with the personnel they believe will keep them around the top of the mountain.Nunez completed his move to Liverpool from Benfica in June for a fee of £64 million, but has come unstuck so far in his first pre-season with the Reds.With preparations fully underway for the 2022/23 season, Liverpool have been on a tour of Singapore.However, the tour did not get off to the brightest start as they were beaten 4-0 by Manchester United in their opening game on Tuesday.Yes, it is pre-season and yes Jurgen Klopp played three different sides throughout the 90 minutes, but that does not mask the fact that it's never acceptable for a Liverpool side to lose 4-0 to a United side.Liverpool bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace yesterday as Klopp's side work their way up to full match sharpness, but it was apparent in both fixtures that Nunez is struggling to get up to speed with his new teammates.
BANGKOK, THAILAND - JULY 12: Darwin Nunez #27 of Liverpool competes for the ball against Alex Telles #27 of Manchester United during the second half of a preseason friendly match at Rajamangala National Stadium on July 12, 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Pakawich Damrongkiattisak/Getty Images)The 23-year-old is yet to score, and has naturally attracted barrages of criticism from social media as a result of his quiet start to life as a Liverpool player. Because one game totally defines his career, right? Not at all.Rival fans online have mocked Nunez' troubled start to life with Liverpool with a fail compilation, which Jurgen Klopp addressed following the defeat against United.Per ESPN, he dismissed any signs of worry and stated: "It's kind of a game or a joke for some people to pick out some situations where a player's not doing well. That's only a game from [fans of] other clubs, which is normal."Our fans probably do [the same] with signings of Manchester United. We cannot take this seriously."
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While Klopp has stated there is no need to panic, that hasn't stopped Liverpool fans online from doing exactly that.
In fact, one fan in particular has gone into the archives and dug out a highlights package of Fernando Torres' pre-season debut for the Reds back in 2007, drawing comparisons between the Spaniard and the Uruguayan's struggles on Twitter.
The tweet has picked up steam, alright. But while the fan intended to calm fellow Reds down, rival fans have merely taken further enjoyment out of the scenario, ridiculing Liverpool fans for how hard they appear to be trying to convince themselves of Nunez' quality. See for yourself below.
WATCH: Fernando Torres' Liverpool debut highlights amid Nunez struggles
Well, that backfired, didn't it?
Let's check out some of the fan reaction, with rival fans finding humour in the fact that Liverpool fans appear to be sweating over their new number nine.
While the roasting over the need to post a Torres compilation is funny, the original tweet actually makes a very valid point.
Sure, the Torres compilation posted might not be as underwhelming as Nunez' debut performance, but it would be absurdly naïve to think that a debut in the first game of pre-season is the be all and end all of a player's career, let alone someone with so many years ahead of him like the Uruguayan.
Since Klopp's arrival, Liverpool have very rarely gotten their transfer business wrong. To spend so much money on Nunez was a clear sign of intent and a show of how much they believe in him.
Knowing what Klopp can do with players and has done with so many at Anfield, don't be surprised if Nunez goes on to blast away all the unnecessary criticism with a flood of goals in the years to come.