Football fans could not get their heads around why Darwin Nunez was crowned man of the match for Liverpool's victory over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
The Reds ran out 3-1 victors at Villa Park thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Stefan Bajcetic in what was a chaotic, end-to-end festive Premier League fixture. While Nunez was a tireless presence in the visitors' attack, he was guilty of squandering a number of gilt-edged opportunities in front of goal.
In fact, the 23-year-old missed four big chances, which just so happened to be the same number of passes he completed prior to being taken off in the 88th minute. Nonetheless, Nunez was named man of the match by Amazon Prime Video to leave bemused supporters airing their bewilderment on social media.
"Darwin man of the match for pure festive entertainment," one fan wrote on Twitter, while another added: "Darwin Nunez got the Man of the Match award after missing 4 big chances, anything is possible in this modern world."
Nunez played the key role in setting up Bajcetic's late strike to restore Liverpool's two-goal lead after Ollie Watkins temporarily halved the deficit. However, one fan scoffed at this contribution, writing: "Amazon giving Darwin the man of the match because he kept the ball in play for the third goal."
Although there were a multitude of fans who could not understand why Nunez was named man of the match, a number of others flocked to the Uruguayan's support. His wasteful but industrious performance against Villa came after he was also guilty of missing numerous chances against Manchester City in the EFL Cup four days earlier.
Did you agree with the decision to name Darwin Nunez man of the match? Have your say in the comments!
"The Darwin Nunez thing is being so over done," a fan who had been encouraged by what he had seen wrote. "Sometimes I think people struggle with watching football and just watch certain moments and judge a 90 minute performance on it."
Another fan wrote of Nunez: "Imagine when he does start smashing in those goals again, we've some player on our hands... the ultimate diamond in the rough." Others saw Nunez's energetic pressing and running on the counter-attack as enough to warrant the accolade, with a supporter saying: "Andy Townsend gave Darwin man of the match... and I agreed with him. That running he did was vital to all our attacks."
Nunez arrived at Liverpool from Benfica last summer for a fee which could rise to a club record £85million. He has chipped in with a respectable nine goals and three assists in 20 appearances in all competitions as he adapts to life in England.
