Staff at Liverpool have absolutely loved the ‘havoc’ that Darwin Nunez has been causing during recent matches.
The 23-year-old has come under scrutiny since the World Cup break, having missed a series of chances against Manchester City and Aston Villa. But according to The Athletic, Liverpool coaches don’t see this as being a problem.
Instead, it’s claimed that Jurgen Klopp and his staff are ‘unconcerned’ by Darwin’s profligacy.
Owing to his ‘intelligent movement,’ coaches reportedly believe that goals are not far away for the Uruguayan. They are said to have been impressed with the chaos that his pace and power is creating for opponents.
He remains a work in progress, but those at Liverpool had reportedly expected him to be exactly that. Asked about Nunez, Klopp echoed that sentiment.
“The only problem a footballer has is you get tested every three days pretty much and then it’s, ‘Oh, it didn’t work out yet. Are they not working on it?’ Of course we are,” the Reds boss said. “It’s more about talking and to stay relaxed in these moments. If he wasn’t getting into these situations, that would be a problem.”
Nunez looking to improve
Plenty of Liverpool fans will no doubt disagree that Nunez’s wastefulness is not a problem. Had he finished his chances, the Reds would have beaten Man City last week, and battered Aston Villa.
In key moments in big games, you can’t rely on the No.27 to hit the back of the net right now.
With Liverpool desperately chasing a top-four spot, they can’t afford too much margin for error. They simply don’t have the luxury of being able to miss hatful’s of chances every game. And yet, somehow, it’s very easy to see Klopp’s point of view here.
Yes, Nunez has missed plenty of opportunities, some of them guilt-edged. But so has Mohamed Salah during his Liverpool career. So did Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, and you can add Diogo Jota to that list, too.
What each of those players has in common is that they didn’t let those missed chances linger on their minds. They got straight back up and ploughed in the next one that came their way. Nunez’s mentality looks to be such that he will follow that same blueprint. As Robbie Fowler told BBC Sport, he’s ‘incredible.’
Of course, there’s no use in clever movement and havoc-wreaking pace if you don’t ultimately put the ball in the net. It’s all well and good assuming things will improve, but we need to start seeing that. Prior to the World Cup break Darwin was proving that he can be a consistent goal scorer for Liverpool. He must tap back into that clinical edge as soon as he can.
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