Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes matched the whole Liverpool team for completed take-ons tonight.
That lovely little statistic comes via Squawka on Twitter. As per their data from Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Wolves, Matheus completed three take-ons during his 27 minutes on the pitch.
That puts him level with the entire Liverpool team for the whole game tonight at Anfield.
Impressively, that also made him the leader in this particular statistic, despite his relatively short time on the pitch. Good from the Liverpool target, but a damning indictment of another toothless Reds display.
Matheus impresses in Anfield cameo
It was a shame to see Matheus omitted from the Wolves side at the start of the evening.
Plenty of Liverpool fans were no doubt keen to see the 24-year-old up close after copious links to the club throughout the week.
In the end, Julen Lopetegui made the Kop wait to see their next potential signing. But when they did see him, Nunes didn’t disappoint.
A key feature of his game appears to be driving with the ball from midfield areas. This explains why he completed so many take-ons during less than half and hour.
Matheus seems to have an uncanny ability to keep the ball at his feet, riding challenges in a way reminiscent of Gini Wijnaldum.
Liverpool do have a player in a fairly similar mould to this already. But Naby Keita has had his time at the club. He was the one midfielder to show any real glimpses of some ball carrying ability against Wolves, but the 27-year-old cannot be relied upon.
Instead, Nunes showed Jurgen Klopp exactly what he’s missing right now. As well as his running with the ball, the Portugal star looks like a much more robust athlete than we’re used to seeing at Anfield right now.
As a result, Klopp will have surely been impressed with what he saw. It may have only been a cameo, but it was definitely enough to convince us. Go and get him.
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