Like so many matches, the latest Merseyside derby was shaped and turned in the blink of an eye. The goal which broke the deadlock set a new, very niche, Premier League record.
Everton may rue their luck in a similar way that Liverpool had to at Goodison Park in September. In that 0-0 draw, the Reds struck the woodwork three times, the joint-most any side has in the top flight this season. When James Tarkowski hit the post at Anfield on Monday evening, he can’t have imagined what would happen so swiftly afterwards.
Within 13 seconds, the Reds had taken the lead. According to OptaPro’s Joe Gallagher, it was the fastest Premier League goal a team has scored following their woodwork being hit since records began in 2009. For all their difficulties this season, Liverpool had won eight and drawn one of the nine league games in which they had led ahead of the derby. The first goal was always going to be crucial.
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It was scored by Mohamed Salah, and in the celebrations afterwards he made sure to acknowledge the one man he had to thank for his 100th Premier League goal contribution at Anfield. No, not Jordan Pickford – though the Everton goalkeeper going walk about certainly helped – but Darwin Nunez.
When the ball was cleared following Everton’s set piece, the Uruguayan exchanged a quick one-two with Salah and set off towards the Kop end. It was the kind of run Nunez has already made many times this season but this was the first occasion where it resulted in a goal.
Opta have a metric called carries, which is when a player moves at least five metres with the ball at their feet. In terms of those which then lead to a shot or a chance created, Salah was Liverpool’s top man in 2021/22 with 53, or one every 52 minutes played, the fifth most in the Premier League (per Opta Analyst).
Yet this term Nunez is joint-third in the top flight standings, with 31, behind only Bukayo Saka (36) and Marcus Rashford (33). The former Benfica man has played far less football than them in 2022/23 too, giving him the pro-rata edge.
His run against the Blues was only the third by a Liverpool player which has ended with an assist in the league this season (though there have also been three in Europe). Luis Diaz carried the ball up field before setting up Roberto Firmino in the 3-3 draw against Brighton, then Trent Alexander-Arnold dribbled to gain a yard of space before crossing to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at Brentford.
Nunez has certainly made similar carries in the past; there were several counter-attacks late on against Manchester City at Anfield which spring to mind, for instance. His execution following the dribbles was awry that day but against Everton it worked perfectly.
In both matches, the 23-year-old was charging down the left flank, and while that was mainly because that was where there was space to be exploited, it shows he can perform well out wide. Many supporters were baffled when Jurgen Klopp elected to play Cody Gakpo central with Harvey Elliott on the left against Chelsea and Brighton but this shows the long term aim was to acclimatise the Dutchman in the middle for the number 27's benefit.
With Gakpo occupying defenders centrally, Nunez will have more room in which to run on the wing and he can use his pace to devastating effect. Only five players in the division have a longer average carry distance this season; give Darwin space and he will cause chaos within it.
He also created a clear-cut chance for Gakpo from the left of the box in the first half, albeit he was most likely trying to score himself. Even so, Nunez has now created six clear-cut chances in his last eight starts for the club. Klopp’s decision to play his summer signing on the left is looking increasingly justified.
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