Another of the Reds perhaps surprising heroes of the campaign has been Darwin Nunez. Although Nunez was a big-money signing and has been tipped to explode for some time now, there are some who surely thought he never would.

Happily though, the 24-year-old is now showing exactly how good he is. The latest instalment in the Darwin show came on Saturday, when Liverpool’s No.9 glanced home a huge injury-time winner against Nottingham Forest. And speaking to BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club after that goal at the weekend, pundit Chris Sutton has raved about Nunez.

“I can’t take my eyes off him when he plays,” Sutton gushed. “Liverpool were struggling at the weekend, all of a sudden Nunez came off the bench and I’m not saying that I knew that they were going to win, but you just felt a change in the game.

“His physicality is phenomenal. He is a real nuisance. He is a handful and it’s fair to say people get frustrated with his finishing but some of his finishes this season have been excellent. Everyone misses opportunities and he can become cleaner with it but he makes things happen and he makes others around him play better, and that’s the biggest thing.”

Nunez winning people over

This isn’t a new thing for Darwin. After becoming something of a figure of fun last season, the Uruguayan has been brilliant for a while now.

Prior to his recent injury against Brentford, there was even an argument that he was presently Liverpool’s most important player.

After his goal won them a massive three points on Saturday, those debates won’t be dying down any time soon.

The Reds have had several players who could claim to have been their best during an eventful season so far. But with Mohamed Salah having now missed most of the past two months, we’d argue that Nunez has assumed that crown.

Virgil van Dijk might have something to say about that, but we’re backing Darwin. He has simply been the difference for Liverpool on too many occasions for us not to.

As Sutton points out, the one big question mark surrounding Nunez is still his finishing. However, having now scored on his last three appearances for the Reds, he’s starting to put that right, too.

Aside from the frequency with which he sticks the ball in the net, the other worry over Darwin is his fitness. The former Benfica hitman does have a tendency to pick up untimely niggles.

Indeed, although he’s one of the first names on the teamsheet, the Uruguay international has only started 16 of Liverpool’s 27 Premier League games. Over the course of the last 11 matches, that needs to improve.

If he can stay fit though, then Nunez could be the difference between the Reds winning or losing it all this season. What a player.