As the confetti settled at Anfield following Liverpool’s heart-stopping 2-1 Carabao Cup third-round victory over Southampton on September 23, 2025, Gary Neville lit the blue touchpaper with a post-match broadside that has Anfield faithful up in arms. The Sky Sports firebrand, speaking on his Overlap podcast just minutes after Hugo Ekitike’s dramatic 90th-minute winner—followed by his own shirt-off celebration and subsequent red card for a double yellow—didn’t mince words on Arne Slot’s decision to sideline Darwin Núñez. “I just don’t understand why they’re benching him,” Neville thundered, his Mancunian growl laced with incredulity. “If Liverpool don’t want him, let him go to Man City—they’ll show you the magic! Núñez is raw, chaotic genius, and parking him against Championship-level Saints? It’s criminal. Slot’s playing with fire.” The 50-year-old’s intervention, dripping with provocation, has cracked open a debate that’s been simmering since Jürgen Klopp’s departure: is the Uruguayan striker Liverpool’s most potent weapon or a luxury Slot can’t afford in his meticulous system?
The match itself was a microcosm of Liverpool’s season so far—promising yet precarious. Slot, the Dutch tactician who succeeded Klopp in a seamless handover last summer, opted for heavy rotation amid a grueling schedule that included a Champions League opener against AC Milan and a Premier League grind against Everton. Key stars like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, and Ibrahima Konaté were rested to preserve legs, with teenage sensation Trey Nyoni handed a start in midfield alongside Wataru Endo. Federico Chiesa, the £10 million summer coup from Juventus, dazzled on the right flank, teeing up Alexander Isak’s opener in the 43rd minute with a pinpoint cross that the Swedish sharpshooter—fresh off his £60 million move from Newcastle—nodded home gleefully. Southampton, punching above their Championship weight under Will Still, leveled through a deflected Cameron Archer strike in the 57th, exposing Liverpool’s makeshift backline as Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah floundered under set-piece pressure.
Enter the Núñez conundrum. The 26-year-old, Liverpool’s £85 million record signing from Benfica in 2022, has been a lightning rod since day one: 34 goals in 109 appearances, a haul that screams potential but is marred by profligacy—missing 28 big chances last term alone. Slot’s philosophy, rooted in positional fluidity and high pressing, demands clinical finishing, and Núñez’s wild swings have seen him demoted to the bench in four of Liverpool’s last six outings. Against Southampton, he watched from the directors’ box as Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo led the line, with the former rattling the post early and the latter drawing a stunning save from Saints keeper Alex McCarthy. Neville, a serial Slot skeptic despite praising the Dutchman’s “seamless” integration earlier in the campaign, pounced: “Núñez brings the x-factor—the pressing, the runs that terrify defenses. City would harness that chaos behind Haaland. Liverpool look sanitized without him, like a Ferrari with the handbrake on.” Social media ignited, with #FreeNunez surging to 180,000 posts overnight, fans split between “Gary’s spot on—Darwin’s our fire” and “Slot’s building a machine, not a circus.”
Neville’s City dig? It’s a dagger to the heart. Núñez’s blistering pace and unorthodox finishing would slot seamlessly into Pep Guardiola’s machine, perhaps as a rotational foil to Erling Haaland or a wide disruptor alongside Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku. The Etihad outfit, reeling from a sluggish start under new sporting director Hugo Viana’s £277 million rebuild, could use his energy to inject unpredictability. “Imagine him at City,” Neville mused. “They’d turn those misses into memes of glory. Slot’s too rigid—Núñez needs minutes, or he’ll bolt.” Whispers of a January swap—Núñez for Julián Álvarez plus cash—have circulated since summer, fueled by the Uruguayan’s cryptic Instagram post-match: a photo of the Anfield roar captioned “Patience 🔥” with Uruguay and Liverpool flags. Teammate Alexis Mac Allister, who bossed midfield with 92% pass accuracy, defended his compatriot on X: “Darwin’s heart is red—trust the process. Arne knows best.” But the undercurrent of discontent is real; Núñez’s camp has reportedly queried his role, especially after starting just twice in the league.
Slot, unflappable as ever, addressed the storm in his presser with characteristic poise. “Darwin’s our spark, no doubt,” the 47-year-old said, his Feyenoord-honed calm unshaken despite Ekitike’s “needless and stupid” sending-off handing Liverpool a numerical edge they barely exploited. “Rotation is key—we’ve seven games in 21 days. He trains like a beast; his time comes.” Yet, privately, sources suggest tension: Núñez’s half-time warm-up against Fulham last weekend hinted at a sub role that never materialized, and Slot’s post-Everton rant about “finishing ruthlessly” felt pointed. The benching aligns with a broader pattern—prioritizing Jota’s poise and Chiesa’s work rate amid injuries to Luis Díaz (hamstring) and a cautious return for Darwin from international duty. Liverpool’s attack remains lethal, with 14 goals in six league games, but without Núñez’s bedlam, they’ve drawn criticism for lacking Klopp-era dynamism. Pundit Jamie Carragher, Neville’s podcast foil, concurred: “Gary talks a lot, but he’s nailed this. Núñez on the bench is like benching fireworks at a party.”
This isn’t Neville’s first Liverpool joust—he’s flip-flopped from doomsaying Slot’s arrival (“a gamble”) to hailing it as “one of the best coaching jobs ever” after a title tilt last spring. But his timing stings: coming off a 3-2 Champions League scare with Milan and with a Merseyside derby looming, Liverpool can’t afford schisms. The fourth-round draw awaits, potentially pitting them against Manchester United or Tottenham, where Núñez’s chaos could be gold dust. Fans, ever resilient, chant his name from the Kop, but Neville’s query hangs heavy: is Slot stifling magic or sculpting sustainability? As one X user quipped, “When Gary starts asking like this, something’s rotten at Anfield. Arne, unleash the beast!” For Núñez, sidelined yet simmering, the message is clear—shine or ship out to City, where the magic awaits