Alexander-Arnold: Darwin Nunez struggled with weight of Liverpool transfer fee before recent turnaround

• Nunez struck twice against Southampton
• Forward now has five goals in 10 games
• Alexander-Arnold full of praise for him

WHAT HAPPENED? The Uruguayan forward scored twice as Liverpool beat Southampton 3-1 on Saturday, taking his Premier League tally up to five goals since his arrival from Benfica. His recent exploits come as no surprise to right-back Alexander-Arnold, who sang his praises after the weekend's match.

WHAT THEY SAID: "Definitely [he's shown growth since arriving]. Coming over to the Premier League, with the price tag on his back, was going to be a heavy weight," he said to BBC. "It took him a few games to get going but we all saw in training the player he is. He's a proper centre-forward with speed but was playing on the wing today, he's versatile. We saw what he could do and he's hit a stride now, he's enjoying his football."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The pressure was on Nunez to shine for Liverpool after his £64 million ($72m) move from Benfica, but the attacker got off to a slow start. After scoring in his first two competitive matches, he went six games without a goal but has since scored seven in his last 10 in all competitions.

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WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL? Saturday's match was Liverpool's last before the World Cup, with the Reds in action again on December 20 when they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.