Arne Slot reacts to Darwin Nunez missing open goal for Liverpool against Aston Villa

Arne Slot said he was disappointed but not as disappointed as Darwin Nunez after the Liverpool forward missed an open goal against Aston Villa.

Mohamed Salah continued his sensational form with Liverpool’s opener on 29 minutes but the visitors still found themselves 2-1 behind at the break as Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins both scored for Villa.

Trent Alexander-Arnold equalised on the hour mark before Nunez had a glorious chance to win it when Dominik Szoboszlai selflessly squared the ball and left Emiliano Martinez stranded.

Nunez beat Tyrone Mings in a foot race to make first contact but blazed his effort over the bar from close range, much to the frustration of the away fans inside Villa Park.

Asked about the chance, Slot said during his post-match press conference: ‘What I saw was an unbelievable pass from Conor Bradley and what a power run from Dominik Szoboszlai, who made in my opinion the perfect choice to square it.

‘From a 1v1 with the goalkeeper he made it an open goal chance. It was not Darwin’s best leg – he’s right-footed of course – but it was still a big chance.

‘Very unlucky and I was hoping he would get another chance because a player like him probably wouldn’t miss two chances in a row and he was very close but [Emiliano] Martinez made a great sliding tackle to win the ball.

‘I think we were all disappointed but it’s normal that the player is a bit more disappointed than the rest.’

Victory for Liverpool would have sent them ten points clear of second-placed Arsenal but Slot’s side have to make do with an eight-point advantage ahead of a crucial weekend in the title race.

On Sunday, Liverpool visit struggling Premier League champions Manchester City, who were knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday night, losing 6-3 on aggregate to holders Real Madrid.

Assessing his side’s performance in Birmingham, Slot added: ‘It was a great game. Going in 2-1 down at half-time didn’t feel like the game went for us like that but I was disappointed.

‘We came out in the second half and scored 2-2 and had some good chances to make it 3-2 and then we could even have lost it. It was a great game but I am not happy with the result.

‘I felt we defended well but I can’t come up with a lot of Villa chances. You need to have a neutral set-piece balance or positive and we conceded one and did not score one. We scored two good goals and created enough chances to get the winner.

‘We played Wolves away and beat them 2-1 and in the final minutes, it was tough for us as well. These players are used to this and are used to playing for trophies.

‘Today we played very well but that also has to do with the style of play of the other team.

‘Every team has to play every team twice and this week is Villa away and City away but again we did not lose.

‘We desired more and that is the only thing we can blame ourselves for a few times now we did not get what we deserved. We must not make a habit of that.’

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