Liverpool will soon see Darwin Núñez explode after Mohamed Salah ‘promise’ and final piece added

Darwin Núñez may not have scored in Liverpool’s Merseyside Derby win over Everton on Monday night, but he did do something that suggests he may soon be exploding.

There was a moment, 87 minutes after Liverpool’s Premier League tie with Manchester City in October, when Darwin Núñez led a three-man counterattack.

With only Bernardo Silva returning for the visitors and Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah running forward alongside Núñez, Liverpool, leading 1-0, had a glorious chance to seal the three points.

But instead of Salah or Jota sliding away for what should have been an easy finish, Núñez inexplicably cuts and attempts to shoot from the edge of the area, with Bernardo making the block.

There were bitter groans throughout Anfield and if Manchester City had found an equaliser, Núñez would have been criticized much more heavily for a baffling play. Whether it was due to lack of awareness or sheer self-interest, he proved the 23-year-old wasn’t thinking clearly. But on Monday night, he executed a similar situation perfectly.

After James Tarkowski hit the post and Dwight McNeil’s shot was deflected towards Núñez, he fed the ball to Salah for a one-two.

It was the sound of the gun and Liverpool’s front three roared – Núñez in possession on the left, Salah in the middle and Cody Gakpo on the right.

Idrissa Gueye struggled to keep up with the speedy Uruguayan while Vitalii Mykolenko was trailed, virtually knocking him out.

It was basically a three-on-one again on the counterattack. In the kind of scenario where he has thrown his lines too often, especially against Manchester City, Núñez bounced a perfect pass off Salah’s run at the perfect moment, giving him the simple task of pushing into a net that Jordan Pickford had left unattended.

Here, Núñez showed the missing ingredient – calm. Too often he was led to the lead by bloodlust in the final third. That’s a big part of why he’s missed 16 big Premier League chances so far this season.

But the overwhelming confidence of the fans is that he will bring some freshness to his game and his performance will explode. It’s a shared belief in the Liverpool dressing room, at least based on comments Salah made after Monday’s game.

“This guy is going to score a lot of goals,” said the Egyptian. “Trust me.”

The most important thing, of course, is that Núñez is calm when he’s in front of goal. He is ultimately judged on how often he finds the web.

But decisiveness and composure also play a role on the creative side of the game, especially when used on the left side of attack rather than in the middle. He hasn’t received the same amount of quality opportunities in this role, so he has to find other ways to contribute.

He may not have been the goalscorer on Monday night but he provided the quality moment Liverpool desperately needed after a full but spirited 35 minutes, not only with his assist but also with the double win early in the game. game.

In doing so, he showed a quality that should allow him to become fruitful and fulfill Salah’s ‘promise’.