Andy Townsend believes Aston Villa defenders would say the same thing about Darwin Nunez after facing him and Liverpool. The Uruguayan was a livewire.
Andy Townsend had an interesting selection for Man of the Match as Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-1. He picked Darwin Nunez – despite the striker missing more chances than you’d think was possible.
Nunez just didn’t have things go his way in front of goal. He should have had a hattrick – at least, really – but his shots were all either wide or straight at Villa’s Robin Olsen.
And yet, we’d completely agree with Townsend’s pick. Nunez was the dominant player on the pitch, with his constant running generating chance after chance and forcing Villa into constant action. They got lucky he didn’t tear them to shreds, in all honesty.
Townsend summed it up on commentary for Amazon Prime Video.
“Darwin Nunez – I’m going to give him Man of the Match,” he said. “If you ask Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa about facing Darwin Nunez, they won’t want to play against him every week.”
After the match, the pundit went into a little more detail, doubling down on what he loved about Nunez.
“I like the fact that he doesn’t give anything up,” he told Laura Woods. “He keeps charging, keeps chasing and running as fast in the 80th minute as he was in the 1st.
“He was a constant threat.”
Darwin Nunez vs Aston Villa
We loved his display, too, and it was fantastic that Nunez’s running eventually paid off as he created the third goal. The 23-year-old powered in behind Villa, getting to the byline and pulling back for Stefan Bajcetic to score.
The deflection off of the goalkeeper means it won’t go down as an assist – but that’s what this was. Nunez created the goal through sheer force of will and that about sums him up.
And everyone watching this must have the same thought as Townsend expects from the Villa defenders. You’d hate facing that energy and pace every week as it’s impossible to stop.
Once the finishing clicks for Nunez, he’ll look absolutely unstoppable.
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