Darwin Nunez appears to be prospering in a Liverpool shirt these days. After a strong start to the season, the Uruguayan appears to be on the verge of doing what he set out to do under Jürgen Klopp when he arrived at Anfield last year.
After dominating the headlines in recent weeks, Nunez was forced to play more of a supporting role against Leicester. Klopp decided to rest the Liverpool forward after starting him in the club’s last two games, ahead of a vital match against Tottenham on Saturday.
The Uruguayan will have been devastated to lose out, but he still had a chance to make an impact, coming on in the 60th minute with the Reds still tied with Leicester.
Nunez was immediately involved in the action, giving Leicester’s gigantic defender, Harry Souttar, who is 1.98 meters tall, plenty of uncomfortable moments.
His contribution to Liverpool’s second goal should also not be overlooked. Nunez received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and was immediately surrounded by three Leicester defenders, yet he managed to hold the ball up, retain possession, and recycle the ball back to Wataru End, who could then switch the play to Dominik Szoboszlai, who had acres of space ahead of him on the other side of the box as a result of the Uruguayan’s run.
Actions like this may go overlooked by the ordinary viewer, but they would not have escaped Klopp’s notice. The ability to lure opponents away from the ball and keep possession of it is vital for a normal forward, and it’s something Nunez didn’t do much of during his first season at the club, but has now become a new component in his game.
Nunez produced another fantastic hold-up play before Liverpool’s third goal against Wolves just over ten days ago, shrugging off the defender and sending him tumbling to the ground to set Mohamed Salah galloping. Such aggressive, forceful, and decisive attacking play is likely to continue to be lethal.
Nunez then continued his run towards the box, pulling Wolves players away and allowing Harvey Elliott to collect a ball on the edge of the box nearly unchallenged, allowing him to fire an effort on goal that wound up in the back of the net.
As important as his goals and assists have been for Liverpool this season, it’s instances like this that he may not get the credit he deserves. This season, Nunez has proven to be a far more ‘complete’ forward than many expected. His movement is more deliberate, and he finishes with greater precision.
He will only improve with time, but it’s clear Klopp has a new weapon; a weapon that perhaps he hasn’t fully had previously at Anfield, since it’s the first time he has a real classic number nine functioning in the front three on a regular basis.