Less chaos, more quality – Liverpool DESPERATELY need a Darwin Nunez upgrade

Robin Bairner

• 8 Apr 2024 07:21 BST
• 4 min read

Enough is enough: it’s time for this Darwin Nunez charade at Liverpool to end.

Captain Chaos may be a favourite of the Anfield crowd thanks to his work rate and the sheer enthusiasm that he exudes, but he also threatens to be one of the reasons that Jurgen Klopp’s men fall short in the title race.

Liverpool should have embarrassed Manchester United on Sunday. Instead, they were held to a 2-2 Old Trafford draw, forced to scramble for a point late on via a Mohamed Salah penalty. Everyone would acknowledge they should have been out of sight by that point.

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Jarell Quansah had his Steven Gerrard moment early in the second half when a lazy square pass was picked off by Bruno Fernandes and planted into the Reds’ net from the edge of the centre circle. If Klopp’s side go on and fall short in the Premier League title race by a point or two, it is likely to be a moment dragged up time and time again for the poor 21-year-old.

But Liverpool’s forwards should have done a job on Man Utd by that stage. Unfortunately, Nunez once again didn’t have his shooting boots on in a big match.

Reds fans will point to the header he won from a corner that led to Luis Diaz’s opening goal and an overall decent performance. But in big games and at big moments, decent is not enough.

Remember, this was a makeshift Man Utd defence he was up against. Policing him was Willy Kambwala, with a whopping two hours of Premier League football under his belt before going into battle with Darwin.

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When it comes to finishing, the soon-to-be 25-year-old fell short.

Five times he shot at goal, five times he failed to test Andre Onana. From his best chance of the afternoon, a clear shot from an angle in the six-yard box, he was closer to putting the ball out for a throw than he was hitting the target. The score was 1-1 at that point. It was a big moment.

This is a trend from the loveable Darwin, whose seemingly boundless enthusiasm has won him an army of fans. And why not – he’s the Premier League’s most watchable player?

But that doesn’t detract from the fact that his scoring record against big teams has been miserable.

Darwin Nunez: a flat-track bully?

It’s been more than six months since he scored against a team currently in the top 10 of the Premier League table across all competitions. That’s a run of 1,018 minutes without a goal against a leading team for those counting.

Sure, there have been plenty of assists along the way, but there’s no doubt that, in terms of goal scoring, at least, Nunez is putting a burden on his teammates to come up big in the big games. Where will that leave Liverpool if Salah leaves in the summer?

With the end of the Klopp era at Anfield looming, the clock is also ticking for Darwin.

The breakneck style that has made the German a legend on Merseyside harnesses the unpredictability of the Uruguay international, who is among the deadliest players in the league against the weaker teams.

But when it comes to the big games, Liverpool need something more than a loveable rogue to lead their line. Darwin has proven it time and again.