Darwin Nunez: Why he is still Liverpool’s unsung hero

Darwin Nunez is one of the players who missed their penalties at Anfield as PSG dumped Liverpool out of the Champions League.

The Uruguayan has been inconsistent since joining the Reds from Benfica, and his performance has been widely criticised.

Since arriving at Anfield, Liverpool has not had to rely solely on him for goals, thanks to Mohamed Salah's form.

Diogo Jota is another player the Reds have had to rely on instead of him, but if you pay £85 million for a striker, he has to perform.

The Reds have worked hard to find a strategy that fits him and he has had two managers in the group, both of whom have publicly backed him but are yet to get the best out of him.

Nunez could be off in the summer, even though Liverpool rejected a big money offer from Al Nassr for his signature in the January transfer window.

Nowadays when he does not perform well, there are people who abuse him on social media and several Liverpool fans want him to leave.

After missing his penalty in the shootout against PSG, most supporters claim they knew he would miss, suggesting that nothing good can be expected from Nunez.

However, Nunez deserves more respect from the Liverpool faithful because he has been a key player for their team.

How many goals does Nunez score?

In his first season in England, Nunez bagged 15 goals in 42 games for the Reds, and he was easily one of their best performers.

The fans were impressed with his work rate, and his goal record was not bad for someone who had just arrived in the Premier League.

He scored 0.48 goals per 90 during that campaign, which is impressive for a new entrant, but fans expected more from the attacker.

In the following season, Liverpool played so many matches as they competed in the Europa League, but he still scored just 0.48 goals per night, translating to 18 goals in 54 competitive matches.

Liverpool fans may have been expecting more from him this term, but a change of managers affects players differently, so it was always going to be tricky for Nunez under Arne Slot.

The Dutchman was chosen to replace Jurgen Klopp, and every player he met at the club had to fight for a place on the team.

Interestingly, Slot signed only Federico Chiesa after contemplating whether he needed to make signings, considering he met a very good squad at Anfield.

The Dutchman is close to winning the league crown, but Nunez has not been a starter on his team, coming off the bench in most matches, even though he is a physically good striker.

Despite his limited game, time, Nunez has 7 goals in all competitions this season and that amounts to 0.47 goals per 90.

That is far from ideal, and it does not show he is making progress, but he needs more game time to score more.

What makes Nunez indispensable to Liverpool

Strikers are paid to score goals, so the most important metric to use and judge Nunez is the amount of goals he scores for the team.

However, reducing a striker’s impact to just the goals he scores might not be smart, and that is certainly not why Slot keeps giving chances to Nunez.

Although he is a fine striker to have in the group, Nunez’s main asset is his engine, as he is a tireless worker.

The Uruguayan has made many fans buy Liverpool tickets because of how much work he does on the pitch.

His tireless running is so important to Liverpool’s pressing that Slot recently subbed him out of a game because he stopped pressing.

The striker had missed a goal and his manager made it clear that he could take  missing a goal, but he cannot tolerate when a striker does not keep working.

Diogo Jota is the cooler of both strikers and the Portugal star knows how to find the back of the net better than Nunez, but he lacks the physicality of the former Benfica man.

Nunez is a fast striker, which gives Liverpool some pace in attack. He is constantly chasing after every loose ball and closing down goalies and defenders. This is what stands him out.

Is the jury still out after three seasons?

After three seasons at Liverpool, Nunez has been one of their most important players, but the Reds still need more goals.

The former Benfica man has to be scoring more goals after three seasons, which means anyone who considers him a flop already is not wrong.

However, the jury should be kept out on him for another season, and there is a good reason for that.

A change of manager has clearly affected his progress at Anfield, and Liverpool must get him back in shape.

He does not seem to be the ideal striker for Slot, so the gaffer must ensure he finds a system that can accommodate the Uruguayan striker.

The next season would be important in his development. If he remains at the club, we expect Slot to have found the best way to make the most of his talents.

Will Nunez ever adapt and become a better player at Liverpool?

Adaptation is very important to every player, but after three seasons, we should not be talking about that for Nunez at Liverpool.

He has understandably had more than enough time to become a better player at Anfield, but why has he not started scoring as much as he did at Benfica?

Some players adapt faster than others, and it could be a huge mistake for Liverpool to give up on the attacker so soon.

This happened to Manchester United with Diego Forlan, who left the EPL and became a superstar.

As long as Nunez wants to remain at Anfield, Liverpool have to be more patient with him and he will come good.

There is no doubt that he has the talent and the industry to play better for them as a team, but if his time at the club is cut short sooner than expected, then he could blossom at another team and make Liverpool question their decision to offload him.

Conclusion

Nunez has not been scoring as many goals as he should as a striker for a top club, but the Uruguayan is a key man for Liverpool.

No other striker at the club is as pacy and physical as he is, and that gives Liverpool the edge in so many matches.