Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was playing almost as a left wing-back during the first half of Uruguay’s 0-0 draw with South Korea today.
That’s according to pundit Ashley Williams, who was in the studio for the BBC’s coverage of the game.
Having watched a goal-less first half play out at the Education City Stadium, talk amongst the pundits turned to the Liverpool man.
“What he’s [Nunez] doing is a good job for his team, but it’s probably not where they’d want him to be for the majority of the game,” said the former centre-back. “When Uruguay are out of possession, he’s very deep, he’s almost like playing left wing-back.
“We’ve highlighted him here, this isn’t really where you want one of your goal scorers to play. Credit to him for doing a job for the team, he’s obviously got Suarez up there, but this is what they want to see from him. Driving forward and the pass just delays it a bit too long, it’s a bit too heavy and he doesn’t get there. I’m sure he’ll be wanting to run forward more than he’s running backwards.”
Nunez asked to defend in Al Rayyan
Such is Nunez’s athleticism and speed, it can be tempting to play him out wide, as Uruguay did today.
We’ve seen it a fair few times at Liverpool this season, too. Although that often seems borne more out of necessity with Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota injured.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that this isn’t Nunez’s best position.
He’s adept at running the channels and causing difficulty from deep, sure. But you really want him a little more central, a little closer to the goal. Uruguay realised this, and moved him up-front with Luis Suarez in the second half.
Thankfully, although the 23-year-old has been asked to play wide for Liverpool, he’s unlikely to go as deep as he often was here.
The Reds are notorious for the full-back play, and there’s no chance of Jurgen Klopp changing that any time soon.
Regardless, Nunez’s shift towards the backend of his team only highlighted how good his work rate is.
He’ll run all day for the team, something that no doubt convinced Liverpool that he was the perfect signing last summer. It wasn’t enough for Darwin today, as his World Cup debut ended in a goalless draw. Stick him through the middle from the start and that should change next time out.
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