Evolution of Darwin: Núñez finally arrives at Liverpool in Salah absence

Liverpool fans have pleaded for patience when making a final judgment on Darwin Núñez. “When he finds his shooting boots, it’s over for the Premier League,” is often the claim.

After Sadio Mané departed for Bayern Munich, there was a huge gap in the Liverpool frontline that needed filling and the Uruguayan was under pressure after his high-profile signing from Benfica 18 months ago. A goal in the Community Shield win over Manchester City back in 2022 suggested Liverpool had struck gold with Núñez. And yet his first campaign at Anfield didn’t quite go to plan. A red card on his home debut set the tone for a sub-par season on Merseyside as Liverpool finished outside the Champions League places. Núñez showed glimpses of his talent, and supporters were quick to defend him. Darwin’s theory of evolution suggested a stronger second season was forthcoming.

And while it’s taken time, we could at long last be witnessing the realisation of Núñez’s potential. A run of one goal in 16 outings to round out 2023 didn’t make for great reading but the 24-year-old has made a strong start to 2024. Three goals in his last three appearances add to his case, and the one against Norwich on Sunday was his 11th of the season.

Some may have feared for Liverpool when Mohamed Salah jetted off to the Africa Cup of Nations to link up with Egypt, but others have stepped up in his absence, with Núñez and Diogo Jota both shining. All it took for Núñez to finally find his rhythm was for Salah to depart for Côte d’Ivoire.

The truth is, though, Núñez has never been one to shy away from chancing his luck in his pursuit of goals. An average of 4.5 shots per 90 is the most in the Premier League this season. It’s no wonder he’s been dubbed Liverpool’s “agent of chaos”. Rather, the issue has routinely been Núñez’s composure, or lack thereof, and he tends to have greater success when finishing instinctively, rather than with chances where he has a second or two to overthink a situation.

Mohamed Salah (centre) was injured on Egypt duty at Afcon, and Darwin Núñez (right) has stepped up for Liverpool. Photograph: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images

He has, after all, missed the most clearcut goalscoring chances (18) in the Premier League this season but has already scored five big chances, having only converted seven in his first season in England. Two of those have come in two appearances in 2024; new year, New-ñez.

There have been clear improvements to Núñez’s finishing ability while the desire to bring others into play remains, which means he is really going some way to establishing himself as one of the best all-round forwards in the game. This is the Núñez that Liverpool fans have really been waiting to see. He’ll still fail to score chances that he really should – his glaring miss against Toulouse a case in point – but these failures are becoming far less frequent as he turns a corner in his Liverpool career.

What’s key now is that Núñez continues to build upon this recent upturn in form. Liverpool will be without the injured Salah for the upcoming meetings with Chelsea and Arsenal but the Egypt forward should return for the visit of Burnley next month. Núñez, then, has two further games with which to really hammer home his goalscoring credentials before Liverpool’s main man returns to action.

This week is a potentially season-defining one for the Reds as they seek to ensure Jürgen Klopp bows out on a high. Beat Chelsea and Arsenal, and Liverpool remain firmly in the driving seat for the Premier League title.

Currently top of the table by five points, albeit having played a game more than second-placed Manchester City, maybe Liverpool fans did have a point that it would be over for the league once Núñez found form. With an unprecedented quadruple in the offing, it’s not just Liverpool’s domestic rivals that should be worrying about Núñez hitting his stride, but the rest of Europe too.

Photograph: WhoScored

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