Jurgen Klopp has explained his decision to take Darwin Nunez off in Liverpool's win over West Ham United on Wednesday night after the Uruguayan scored earlier in the game.
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The 23-year-old has received widespread criticism for some of his performances since joining the Reds from Benfica in the recent transfer window, perhaps mainly due to the club spending big money on his signature.
Nunez, who enjoyed an outstanding breakthrough season in Portugal last season, has impacted games early on in his Liverpool career as he scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over the Hammers at Anfield on Wednesday.
He was, however, taken off not long after half-time, with Klopp stating in his post-match press conference that he made this decision simply to protect the former Almeria forward from potential strain.
"It (his goal) 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 said, according to the Daily Mirror.
"He felt a little bit 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. I think we caught it at the right moment.
"For sure not easy tonight, but we played well enough – and in moments, really good.
"In the end, altogether, well enough to deserve three points."
Nunez has made 12 appearances for Liverpool since his arrival, scoring five goals in all competitions.
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