Darwin Nunez is surprisingly doing something much better than Mohamed Salah this season for Liverpool

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It’s been a little tricky few months for Darwin Nunez recently. At the moment, there is no denying the Uruguayan is struggling in front of goal.

One moment after another, he’s been really unfortunate in terms of not quite being able to produce the kind of numbers that his underlying numbers would suggest he should be producing.

However, even on the surface, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom for the Liverpool number nine. He’s made 16 goal contributions at the half-way stage for Liverpool already and has averaged a goal or assist every 96 minutes in all competitions.

That’s not a bad return at all, and if we look underneath the surface, his underlying numbers suggest his output could soon turn out to be even better.

Nunez offering more threat than Salah

Taking a look at FBref, Nunez has only averaged 0.47 goals per 90 for Liverpool this season. However, when you look at his expected goals, that number should be a lot higher.

According to FBref, Nunez’s non-penalty expected goals is 0.72 per 90 minutes 0.25 times more than his actual output. That’s a significant difference and it is by far the best output in the Liverpool squad this season – even higher than Mohamed Salah – who only averages 0.50 non-penalty expected goals.

But what does this all mean?

It means Nunez is getting into the right places and the right areas to score goals – even more often than Salah. The only thing he is lacking is the finishing. However, that can be worked on, and he’s already shown over the course of his career that he can be a prolific goal-scorer.

It would be a lot more concerning if he wasn’t getting in the right areas and accumulating as much expected goals. But the fact that he is, suggests it is only a matter of time until he starts to really explode in a Liverpool shirt.