The naysayers will no doubt take one look at the scoresheet and knowingly note another blank for Darwin Nunez.
But there’s good reason the Liverpool striker was given a rousing reception by the Anfield crowd when his number came up on the fourth official’s electronic board with 10 minutes remaining.
The 23-year-old was missing only a goal after an impressive all-round performance that provided encouraging evidence of why Jurgen Klopp has placed such faith in building a new-look attack around the player.
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After his promising start was cut short by self-inflicted absence following his needless red card against Crystal Palace six weeks ago - robbing him of much-needed adaptation time on the pitch - Nunez has struggled to impose himself as Liverpool opened the campaign in largely underwhelming fashion.
The knives were soon out. It was convenient, though, for the critics to overlook the lack of minutes that meant this Champions League clash against Rangers was only his third start since arriving from Benfica in the summer.
The bare fact is it has been impossible to thus far gauge whether Nunez will be a success for Liverpool, and it will still be some time before a verdict can be delivered, a point of which Klopp and assistant Pep Lijnders were surely mindful when they held lengthy talks with the player over the weekend after he was restricted to the briefest of cameos in Saturday’s 3-3 home Premier League draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Against Rangers, Nunez benefited from an attack-minded Liverpool approach that saw Diogo Jota loitering behind the striker as Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz mined the flanks. It gave the Uruguay international more space in which to operate, and three times in the first half he was denied by the heroics of visiting goalkeeper Allan McGregor. No player had more shots during the game.
More encouragingly, there were signs of an understanding with his new team-mates who are becoming more versed in playing to his strengths. Early days, yes, but this was better.
Ultimately, one of Nunez’s earliest involvements was the most telling, his physical presence winning a free-kick from former Reds defender Ben Davies that was swept home by Trent Alexander-Arnold for the opener.
Of course, there will be far tougher propositions than the flimsy five-man Rangers rearguard that was continually bailed out by the busy McGregor. But it would be churlish to argue against this being a confident step in the right direction for Nunez.
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