Darwin Nunez comes next in the ECHO’s end-of-season Liverpool ratings, having had a difficult debut season at Anfield
To use a famous phrase, he is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
And, despite a debut season that started with a bang and ended with a whimper, Liverpool are still no closer to figuring out how Darwin Nunez can make the most of his time at Anfield.
Before the Reds’ Champions League quarter-final against the striker’s Benfica in April 2022, it’s safe to say the Uruguay international striker was on the radar of only a few Reds fans. Goals in each leg soon changed that, and he caught the eye of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who was looking to add to an attack that would soon lose Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich.
Nonetheless, eyebrows were raised when Liverpool agreed to pay a club record £85 million for his services shortly after losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
Nunez was scrutinized from the moment he signed, which was hampered by an over-eagerness to impress, which hampered a number of pre-season performances and led to him being mocked on social media before a competitive ball was even kicked.
However, in the Community Shield, Nunez came off the bench to win a penalty and score, temporarily overshadowing Manchester City’s own big-money signing Erling Haaland. Despite scoring in the Premier League opener against Fulham the following weekend, it would prove to be a false dawn, with a red card for an unnecessary headbutt on the 24-year-old’s home debut against Crystal Palace ruling him out for three games.
Nunez has avoided any further controversies as a result of that hot-headed aberration. And, while he became a more regular starter leading the line prior to the World Cup and frequently impacted games, a recurring theme saw him work himself into good openings before missing them.
It was also intriguing that Nunez played on the left flank in the two Premier League games preceding the Qatar tournament, where he was eliminated with Uruguay at the group stage, assisting a Mohamed Salah goal at Tottenham Hotspur and scoring twice against Southampton.
Nunez started only two more games as the center forward after the arrival of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in the New Year, scoring in the FA Cup third round draw at home to Wolves and winning the penalty from which Salah scored the only goal in the Premier League win over Fulham last month.
While he was largely injury-free, niggles caused him to miss the notable defeats at Nottingham Forest and Brighton, as well as the drab draw at Crystal Palace, before missing the final three games with a toe complaint. Nunez appeared only three times during Liverpool’s 11-game unbeaten streak that ended the season.
If it contributed to Nunez’s output decreasing in the second half of the season, it didn’t diminish his reputation as a big-game player, with goals at Newcastle United, Real Madrid, Leeds United, and twice in Liverpool’s record-breaking 7-0 win over Manchester United. There was also a helper against Everton.
Nunez, who has been steady rather than spectacular this season, has 15 goals and four assists in 42 appearances, with 11 of his goals coming in his 26 starts. Improving his command of the English language will be beneficial, as will his proclivity to perform better after his debut season, as demonstrated at Benfica.
“Obviously, I still have a lot of things to work on, such as finishing,” Nunez said earlier this year. “However, I believe the same thing is happening to me as it did to (fellow Uruguayan Luis) Suarez.” He ripped it up in his second year.
“At Benfica, something similar happened to me. My first year was a disaster, and in the second, I blew up. I believe the same thing is happening here. I’m hoping for the same thing next season. I’ll put my best foot forward and hope for the best.”
The forward is correct. Next season, the true Darwin Nunez must step up for Liverpool.
Leave a Reply