KEY POINTS

  • Liverpool beat West Ham in the league Wednesday
  • Darwin Nunez was the lone scorer in the game
  • Liverpool's next game is on Saturday against Nottingham Forest

Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed why he substituted Darwin Nunez in his side's 1-0 win over West Ham.

Nunez scored the lone goal in the Premier League game at Anfield on Wednesday before he was subbed off in the second half. The Uruguayan striker leaped in the air to meet Kostas Tsimikas' cross and slammed a header beyond the reach of West Ham's goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

It was Nunez's first goal at Anfield. He has now scored five goals and one assist in 12 matches for Liverpool.

Talking about replacing Nunez with Harvey Elliot in the 57th minute, Klopp said the Uruguay national felt "a little bit of the muscles" and the team didn't want to take any chance by continuing him on the field.

"It is important. He has scored now a couple of times in the last few games. He arrived 100%, now even with numbers, which is fine. He felt a little bit of the muscles at half-time but it was all fine and after five minutes [of the second half] I was just a bit concerned about long sprints for him and balls where he stretches his legs. I thought, 'Come on, we cannot take that risk' and that's why we changed," Klopp told reporters after Liverpool's 1-0 win.

Match winner: Darwin Nunez scored the only goal in Liverpool's 1-0 win over West Ham
AFP

The Reds are already without two key forwards – Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz – due to injuries. Diaz, who is expected to miss at least 12 games, has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Jota picked up a calf issue during Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City last weekend and will be away till the end of the FIFA World Cup. The Portuguese forward would miss a minimum of seven games across competitions for the Reds.

After losing 3-2 to Arsenal at Emirates earlier this month, Liverpool have bounced back with three consecutive wins across competitions: 7-1 vs. Rangers in the Champions League and a 1-0 win over both Manchester City and West Ham in the English top-flight competition.

The Reds are next scheduled to face off against bottom-placed Nottingham Forest on Saturday. It is an away fixture at West Bridgford's City Ground. Klopp and Co. moved to seventh place following the victory over The Hammers. Liverpool have 16 points from 10 games in the 2022-23 Premier League season.