That Darwin Nunez made the most appearances of any Liverpool player last season is a quirk of statistics. The £65 million signing played 54 games but only 33 were from the start.
On Saturday, at Anfield he finally got his first start of the season under new head coach Arne Slot. That Nunez also scored 18 goals last season is also somewhat of a misleading statistic - only 11 of them were in the Premier League, and none against a team that finished in the top six. He only scored in nine of his 38 league appearances and ended the campaign with fewer league goals than Chris Wood, Nicolas Jackson, Matheus Cunha, Leandro Trossard and 14 others.
Diogo Jota, who only started 19 league games in Jurgen Klopp’s final season, ended 2023/24 with one league goal fewer than Nunez, and it was the Portuguese who got the nod as Slot’s preferred No.9 to begin this season.
Jota is never an eye-catching centre-forward, he often appears to be on the periphery of things, perhaps doing more of his work off the ball or subtle things that most supporters don’t recognise, certainly not making highlights. He is the antithesis of Nunez - who is very much a highlight reel player, sometimes for good and bad.
Jota began the season in ideal fashion with a goal in the opening win at Ipswich, but despite starting all five games under Slot before Saturday that remained his only goal so far. Slot then somewhat surprisingly opted to give Nunez the nod as Bournemouth arrived at Anfield.
The former Benfica forward repaid that in fine style, with a goal which should be a contender for goal of the season not just for the quality of the finish - on Nunez’s weaker left foot, from the far side of the box, curled perfectly in off the far post - but also for the build-up.
Ibrahima Konate’s long from defence was expertly headed by Nunez for Mo Salah, who released the Uruguayan down the line. It never looked like a goalscoring opportunity from there, but with little pressure being applied by the Bournemouth defender, Nunez was able to amble to the edge of the box, assess his options and provide a stunning finish.
It was a shot with an xG of 0.06 - no wonder Slot, like many inside Anfield, didn’t think it was the best option at first…
“My first instinct when he shot was ‘why does he shoot?’,” Slot told reporters post-match. “I wanted to say ‘why don’t you keep on dribbling?’ because he made the ball free and I think the defender was on the ground.
What a goal from Darwin Núñez! 😍 pic.twitter.com/dvxZnoJamASeptember 21, 2024
“But then it was a fraction of a second later when I saw the ball went in off the post. I was like ‘OK, maybe you are a better football player than I was in the past’. Good choice from him!”
It certainly was a good choice - and the relief was there for all to see as an emotional Nunez celebrated his first goal for the club since the start of April.
Arne Slot emphasises work rate at Liverpool: just like Klopp warned
Slot, though, will be assessing Nunez’s performance beyond the goal, with the Dutchman’s words ahead of Bournemouth sounding not too dissimilar to messages that Jurgen Klopp had offered towards Nunez in the last two seasons.
“For me, it’s mainly about the work we do without the ball,” Slot had said in his pre-match press conference on the Friday when asked what it will take for Nunez to get a start. “[He] understands day by day better what we expect from him.”
Similarly, explaining the start in his pre-match interview, Slot said: “Without the ball, I’m expecting him to put in the same work rate like all the others have done until now.”
Beyond his three shots, Nunez contributed off the ball too, making seven defensive actions (per FotMob) - significantly more than his strike partners in Salah and Luis Diaz (two each), and winning two tackles (Salah and Diaz none). That will be what Slot and his staff will be most pleased about.
With four games in 10 days, starting with Wednesday’s visit of West Ham in the Carabao Cup, Nunez will get further opportunity to build on his start vs. Bournemouth. And with his international suspension continuing during the October international break, that means more time working individually with Slot’s coaching team, and a more rested player after the break.
It feels like this is Nunez’s big opportunity, perhaps his final one at Liverpool. The next few months will be intriguing to see whether he can take it and usurp Jota as Slot’s first-choice centre-forward.
