Awoniyi winner with Darwin out: Klopp's blind spot in plain sight

FT Desk

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
• 3 min read

Taiwo Awoniyi got the winning goal for Nottingham Forest against former club Liverpool on Saturday as Darwin Nunez - a €100 million arrival from Benfica - sat out with a mystery injury…

Roberto Firmino - perhaps the only striker Klopp has got right in his seven years at Liverpool - led the line in Darwin's absence, but there was no way through for the Brazilian or any of his Reds teammates.

Dean Henderson played a starring role in that, making seven saves including a fabulous stop from Virgil van Dijk late in the game, but what will have stung worse for Jurgen Klopp is that Awoniyi got the winner.

Klopp arrived at Anfield in October 2015, three months after an 18-year-old Awoniyi had been acquired from the Imperial Soccer Academy in Nigeria.

But the German never fancied the youngster, and he was sent out on successive loans to FSV Frankfurt, NEC Breda, Mouscron, Gent, Mainz and Union Berlin before finding his feet in the Bundesliga with the latter over the last few seasons.

Klopp got Firmino right

In fairness to Klopp, Firmino was a world-class operator in his position for most of that time, forming a formidable front three with Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.

But for the last few years, Awoniyi must have been wondering what Christian Benteke, Divock Origi and Danny Ings brought to the squad that he couldn't, even if Origi scored a famous winner against Barcelona in the Champions League.

And now Awoniyi is back in England scoring against Liverpool. And the natural comparison for him to make is with Darwin.

Darwin's evolution: pic.twitter.com/y0sNe5plBI

— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 16, 2022

Awoniyi now has the same number of Premier League goals as Darwin (three), in admittedly around 100 more minutes to find them, but he also plays for a statistically weaker team and has a headbutt and consequent red card less to his name too.

Awoniyi also cost Forest just €19.5 million this summer - a fifth of the fee Liverpool splashed out on Darwin, for a similar return.

Klopp is now on a shaky nail at Anfield, even if the club are publicly backing him, and it is poetic justice for Awoniyi that he was the one to point out Klopp's blind-spot on Saturday.