Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp gives view on intriguing Nunez vs Haaland Golden Boot battle

Klopp impressed by Nunez's rapid progress at Liverpool

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists that summer signing Darwin Nunez isn’t motivated by an individual battle with Manchester City star Erling Haaland to win this season’s Premier League Golden Boot and instead just wants to help his team win matches. But the German admits that Nunez could turn his attentions to a personal crusade to outscore the Norwegian striker should he still be in the running to land the honour at the business end of the campaign.

“I don’t know Darwin well enough yet but at the moment he is just concerned that he can score for us and set up goals for us or whatever,” Klopp said. “I think at the moment he isn’t bothered about comparisons or rivalries, not at all. But if there was a situation towards the end of the season about goalscoring or whatever then there could be, yes.

“I don’t think Mo Salah would look at that either yet. It was always clear that Haaland at City would work out. It’s a chance-producing side and he is a finisher so it was always clear and that is why it is not a surprise or whatever.”

Nunez put pen-to-paper on a six-year deal at Anfield this summer after the Reds shelled out an initial £64million to prise him away from Benfica. And the striker opened his Liverpool account on his Premier League debut as he came off the bench to score in his side’s 2-2 draw with Fulham last weekend.

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Haaland, meanwhile, has joined the Citizens from Borussia Dortmund and got off the mark for his new team against West Ham last Sunday as he struck from the penalty spot before later adding his second in a 2-0 victory.

Both players have already illustrated their goalscoring talents for their previous clubs and could well enjoy fruitful seasons in England this time around. But when asked whether he had set Nunez a goals target for this campaign, Klopp replied: “No I didn’t – of course no.”

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Klopp will be desperate for his side to get their first win of the season on Monday night when they host Crystal Palace. And he is confident his team can enjoy another fine campaign if they concentrate on their own performances.

“We just try to make sure that our football – the football idea we have – that it is obvious again and consistently all the time,” the 55-year-old added. “Because if we can do that it is still very uncomfortable to play against us and that is really my first concern.

“I hope that happens again because from there we can then start thinking about twists and tweaks and how we can do this and how we can improve areas. But now the first thing for us is that we bring in the intensity and we will be fine.”

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