Arne Slot criticizes a Liverpool player for their conduct during the draw against Aston Villa.

Arne Slot criticizes a Liverpool player for their reaction after a poor performance in the Premier League draw against Aston Villa.

Liverpool’s title hopes took another hit on Wednesday night as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Villa Park, leaving them with just one win in their last four matches. Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool the lead before goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turned the game around. Trent Alexander-Arnold later rescued a point for the visitors, but the match could have ended differently had Darwin Nunez capitalized on a golden opportunity.

In the 70th minute, Nunez was handed a clear chance to score from close range after a pass from Dominik Szoboszlai, only to send the ball over the bar. His reaction afterward, seen laughing and joking with the Villa goalkeeper, frustrated fans, some of whom questioned his commitment to Liverpool’s title challenge.

Slot appeared to share these concerns, calling out the striker ahead of their crucial clash with Manchester City. The Dutch manager admitted he could accept missed chances but was disappointed by Nunez’s attitude after the miss, saying:

“I can accept every miss, especially from a player who scored two important goals against Brentford. What is harder for me to accept is the behavior after that chance. It was not the usual Darwin who works his a** off. He was too disappointed at missing that chance.

“You can miss a chance, but you cannot miss out on work rate. It’s not part of the job of a No.9 to slow down in work rate. It’s something we will talk about.”

Immediately after the match, Slot initially defended Nunez, emphasizing that no one was more frustrated by the missed opportunity than the player himself. He acknowledged that Nunez felt down in the dressing room but suggested the team needed to move forward.