Jurgen Klopp left fans confused with Darwin Nunez decision as Luis Suarez hinted at Liverpool’s future

Darwin Nunez has doubts about his first season at Liverpool, but is the criticism entirely justified?

When the fourth official’s electronic scoreboard was blown through the air at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening with 11 minutes to go, it elicited many questioning looks from distant Liverpool fans and spectators at home.

The sight of the number 27 to signify Darwin Nunez’s premature departure from the unforgettable goalless draw against Chelsea confused those who had seen the Uruguayan as the Reds’ biggest second-half threat.

But it was enough to spark further debate over the effectiveness of the 23-year-old since his arrival from Benfica in a deal that could ultimately cost the Reds a record £85m.

A common observation is that Nunez has had a disappointing campaign thus far with a return of 14 goals from 30 games. Yes, Liverpool could have expected more for the eye-popping spend. But Nunez was not bought for just one season, and since he is only 23 years old and has to adapt to a new country, a new league and a new language within a team that has suffered a huge drop in form this season, it’s no surprise he didn’t. t peaks consistently.

But look how many Premier League players have scored more than Nunez in all competitions this season. Inevitably, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland leads with 42 goals. Then Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford arrives on June 28. Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane scored 24 goals, Nunez’s teammate Mohamed Salah 23 and Brentford forward Ivan Toney 18.

It is, however. Only five players. If Nunez apparently had a tough time, what does he say about just about everyone else?

Curiously, 11 of those 14 goals – along with three of his four assists – have come in the striker’s 24 appearances. And two of three remaining goals and his other assist from the bench came in his first two appearances, the Community Shield win over Manchester City and the first Premier League draw at Fulham.

While recurring injuries have dampened momentum at difficult times, Nunez has actually only missed four games this season due to fitness issues. The other three absences followed a red card on his home debut against Crystal Palace, for which he has since learned his lesson – Nunez received just two bookings afterwards.

Odds weren’t an issue – only Aston Villa’s Haaland, Kane, Salah, Rashford and Ollie Watkins had more shots on target this season in the Premier League, while no player had more shots on target or not on the whole – but converting them was another matter.

It didn’t help that Nunez didn’t have a fixed position, starting in the middle in the early part of the campaign but then moving more permanently to the left following Cody Gakpo’s arrival in January. Yet his goals are evenly split between wings and line work.

And adapting to the unique demands of playing in England meant he only played the full 90 minutes as a Liverpool player seven times.

Compare Nunez’s debut season to those of other top Liverpool strikers in recent years. Roberto Firmino scored 11 goals in 49 games in 2015/16, Sadio Mane 13 in 29 games the following year and Diogo Jota 13 in 30 games in 2020/21. All three scored more frequently in their second seasons. Mohamed Salah’s 44 goals in 2017/18 remain the anomaly, although like all but Firmino before him he had played in England before.

The first adjustment of the season is nothing new for Nunez, who scored 14 goals in 44 appearances in 2020/21 when he first arrived in Portugal for Benfica from Spain’s Almeria. He scored 34 of 41 goals the following season, which was enough for Liverpool to score last summer.

And although a different breed of striker, Nunez will be encouraged by the fate of fellow Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez at Anfield, who scored 21 of 52 goals in his first and a half seasons before reaching 30 goals in subsequent seasons. .

“Obviously I still have a lot of things to work on, for example the finishing,” Nunez said earlier this year. “But I think the same thing happens to me as Suarez. In his second year he tore it up.

“Something similar happened to me at Benfica. The first year was really bad for me and the second year I exploded. I think the same is happening here. I hope next season will be the same. I’ll do my best and hope I have some luck.”

And with 10 games left of the current season, Nunez has plenty of opportunities to build momentum and make a strong start to next season.