Jurgen Klopp says it will only be a matter of time before Darwin Nunez gets his first Liverpool goal at Anfield after the striker failed to find the net against Rangers.
Liverpool ran out comfortable 2-0 victors against Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side in the Champions League, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah on target.
Allan McGregor was forced into eight saves to keep the scoreline down, while Nunez had more shots than any Liverpool player in the match – finding the target with four of his attempts.
The former Benfica striker's six efforts were the most a Liverpool player has had without scoring in a Champions League group stage game since Sadio Mane against Salzburg in December 2019 (also six).
Despite just the sole strike to Nunez's name in the Reds' first Premier League game of the season at Fulham, Klopp insists the 23-year-old will soon get off the mark at home.
"I think you can see that. The way the boys moved together up front today was extremely good for just one [training] session," Klopp said of his attackers responding to a change in shape against Rangers.
"We only had one session, low intensity because we only played recently, so it showed how good a striker he is, getting into these situations. Everybody saw tonight, this will happen."
Liverpool trail Group A leaders Napoli, who hammered Ajax 6-1 on Tuesday, by three points ahead of a return trip to Rangers next week after visiting Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
‘The time has come to say goodbye’ – Zlatan Ibrahimovic retires aged 41
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his retirement from football at the age of 41.
The AC Milan striker made the announcement on the San Siro pitch following his club’s final game of the Serie A season.
“I have many memories and many emotions in here,” the Sweden international said.
“The first time I arrived here you gave me happiness. The second time, love. I will be a Milan fan for life.
“The time has come to say goodbye to football, but not to you. See you around, if you’re lucky. Forza Milan and goodbye.”
A clearly emotional Ibrahimovic was serenaded by the Milan fans and then given a guard of honour by his team-mates as he left the pitch.
The former Manchester United striker has spent most of the season on the sidelines due to injury, playing just four times for Milan and scoring once in a 3-1 defeat at Udinese in March, and his departure from the club had already been announced.
In July last year he renewed his contract for another year, despite facing the prospect of a lengthy rehabilitation from knee surgery.
Shortly after helping Milan win the Serie A title he had undergone a planned procedure on his left knee to repair damage and instability caused by a previous anterior cruciate ligament injury.
As expected that meant a lengthy lay-off and Ibrahimovic did not make his first appearance of this season until the end of February.
Ibrahimovic began his career at Malmo and joined Ajax in 2001 after rejecting the overtures of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
“Arsene Wenger asked me to have a trial with Arsenal when I was 17. I turned it down. Zlatan doesn’t do auditions,” was how Ibrahimovic put it in his own inimitable style.
The prolific striker also had spells with Juventus and Inter Milan before an unhappy spell at Barcelona, where he complained about how he was used by manager Pep Guardiola.
“When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari,” Ibrahimovic said.
“If you drive a Ferrari you put premium fuel in the tank, you drive on to the motorway and you floor the accelerator.
“Guardiola filled up with diesel and went for a spin in the countryside. If that’s what he wanted, he should have bought himself a Fiat from the start.”
Ibrahimovic joined AC Milan for the first time, initially on loan, in 2010 before moving to Paris St Germain, where he scored 113 times in 122 league appearances.
He also enjoyed spells with Manchester United, with whom he won the Europa League and League Cup, and LA Galaxy before returning to the San Siro.
Sweden’s all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 122 matches, Ibrahimovic quit the national team after Euro 2016 but returned in 2021 for their unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign.
Spezia and Hellas Verona face Serie A relegation play-off after final day drama
Spezia and Hellas Verona face a relegation play-off following a dramatic final day of the Serie A season.
The two sides started the day level on points and could not be separated after both suffered defeats away from home.
Dimitris Nikolaou gave Spezia the lead against Europa League runners-up Roma after just six minutes, but Nicola Zalewski equalised just before half-time and Paulo Dybala held his nerve to convert a 90th-minute penalty.
The spot-kick was awarded after Kelvin Amian fouled Stephan El Shaarawy, with Amian sent off for a second bookable offence.
Verona were on course for the point against AC Milan which would have been enough for safety when Davide Faraoni’s 72nd-minute goal cancelled out Olivier Giroud’s penalty, but Rafael Leao scored twice in the closing minutes to give the Rossoneri a 3-1 win.
After the match, Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from football at the age of 41.
The first relegation play-off since Bologna faced Parma in 2005 will take place at a neutral venue next weekend.
At the other end of the table, Atalanta thrashed 10-man Monza 5-2 to secure a Europa League place along with Roma, with Juventus set for the Europa Conference League despite a 1-0 win at Udinese.
Champions Napoli ended the season with a 2-0 win over bottom side Sampdoria, Victor Osimhen scoring his 26th goal of the season from the penalty spot after being fouled in the area and Giovanni Simeone rifling home from distance five minutes from time.
A potentially dramatic battle in LaLiga failed to produce any real fireworks as Real Valladolid were relegated following a 0-0 home draw with Getafe.
Six teams were in danger of joining the already-relegated Espanyol and Elche in going down, but Valladolid started and ended the day in the bottom three following a disappointing stalemate.
Celta Vigo made certain of survival with a 2-1 win over champions Barcelona thanks to a brace from Gabri Veiga.
Barcelona ended the season 10 points clear of runners-up Real Madrid after Karim Benzema marked his final appearance for the capital club with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao.
Benzema scored a 72nd-minute penalty to cancel out Oihan Sancet’s opener early in the second half.
In Belgium, Toby Alderweireld fired in a stunning last-gasp goal to help Royal Antwerp win their first league title since 1957.
The former Tottenham defender – who joined his hometown club last summer – equalised in the fourth minute of stoppage time from outside the box as Antwerp rescued a 2-2 draw against title rivals Genk.
The goal meant Antwerp edged out both Genk and Union Saint-Gilloise by just one point to win the Belgian league title for only the fifth time in their history.
Milan 3-1 Hellas Verona: Leao double condemns visitors to Serie A relegation play-off
Milan signed off the Serie A season with a 3-1 victory as Rafael Leao's double condemned Hellas Verona to a relegation play-off with Spezia.
The Rossoneri wrapped up a frustrating campaign on a winning note at San Siro, with a late Leao brace enough to seal three points.
Milan had already secured Champions League football for another term but struggled at times against the visitors, who cancelled out Olivier Giroud's first-half penalty through Marco Faraoni's 72nd-minute strike.
Yet Leao struck in the 85th minute and again seven minutes later, leaving Verona to face a relegation decider with Spezia, who succumbed to a late 2-1 loss at Roma.
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