Klopp: Haaland rivalry is not in Darwin’s sights

JURGEN KLOPP is confident Darwin Nunez will not get caught up in a personal shootout with Erling Haaland.

Nunez is pushing for his first Premier League start tomorrow night, having marked his debut at Fulham last Saturday with a goal and an assist for Mo Salah in a 2-2 draw. It followed his exhilarating cameo in the Community Shield, when he helped Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-1.

Inevitably, given the size of the transfer fees and the timing of their respective arrivals in England, a plotline for this season was always going to be which of the strikers would finish with the most goals — and it was actually a surprise that Haaland didn’t score against Bournemouth yesterday.

Klopp is full of respect for the Norway international and has no doubt he will be in the running for the Golden Boot next May but his only concern at the moment is making sure Nunez, a towering Uruguay striker, is fully settled in Liverpool’s squad.

There were a few moments against Fulham that left Klopp exasperated — not least the slow start his team made — and he is looking for an immediate improvement when Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace come to Anfield.

‘If there is a situation at the end of the season about goalscoring or whatever — maybe it could be something (to motivate him),’ said Klopp. ‘I don’t know Darwin well enough yet. At the moment, he just has to score for us and assist for us. It was always clear that Haaland and Manchester City was going to work out. They are a chance producing side and he is a finisher.

‘We just try to look at our own football.’