When the ball hit the back of the net on Tuesday evening, Darwin Nunez must have felt an enormous sense of relief. All forwards love scoring, of course, but having gone five appearances for club and country without a goal, the Uruguayan will have been delighted to score for his country in their 2-0 win over Canada.
The goal had a strain of Liverpool past and present running through it, as former Red Luis Suarez provided the assist. He sent over a cross and Nunez leapt higher than the defender to head the ball powerfully home from about eight yards out.
Comparisons were even made between Nunez and John Toshack following the goal, if you want to glance even further back into the history of forwards at Liverpool. While that might be going a bit far (unless Jurgen Klopp is planning to pair him with someone in the Kevin Keegan mould), the former Benfica man’s header did raise a pertinent question: why aren’t the Reds providing him with that type of service?
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The first glimpse many Kopites had of Nunez saw him profit from a cross, in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Benfica in in April. While he tucked that opportunity away with his right foot, he was certainly productive using his head in Portuguese football last season. Nunez scored five times with headers in the Primeira Liga, second most in that league and more than anyone managed in the top flight in England (though Diogo Jota, with four, wasn’t far adrift). He added another to his CV with a winner in the Champions League round of 16 clash with Ajax too.
Nunez’s noggin also came to the fore in his first proper appearance for the Reds, against Manchester City in the Community Shield. It was his header which resulted in a handball and led to the penalty from which Mohamed Salah scored. The 23-year-old then wrapped up the 3-1 victory by stopping to head home a pass from Andy Robertson.
In Klopp’s six full seasons in England, Liverpool have recorded at least 14 league assists via crosses four times, more than any other team. You would think adding a player with Nunez’s aerial strength to the side would pay heavy dividends. It easily still might, but a slight tweak may be required first.
The former Benfica forward’s career with the Reds has been so disrupted ( thanks mainly to his own idiocy in getting sent off against Crystal Palace ) that it’s too soon to read too much into any data he has accrued. Nonetheless, the fact remains that he has only had two shots with his head in 228 minutes in league and Europe, both of which were put off target in the derby draw with Everton.
As he has only been the recipient for six crosses – three from Trent Alexander-Arnold, two from Salah and one from James Milner – it’s unsurprising Nunez has had little attacking output with his head. The other point worth noting in relation to this is that he hasn’t received a cross which came from left.
Granted, Alexander-Arnold has the most Liverpool assists for headers in the league since the summer of 2017 (with 23), but the combined efforts of Andy Robertson (16) and Kostas Tsimikas (two) are only five behind him. They should be able to provide service to Nunez in time too.
And while his headed output has been minimal, it’s not as if the crosses he has received have been completely fruitless. Clear-cut chances fashioned against both Fulham and Crystal Palace via that method is evidence of that, even if the Reds’ number 27 took the shots with his feet.
But when Nunez is looking to kick start his Liverpool career, increasing the number of crosses he receives could be a shortcut towards helping him achieve that. Luis Suarez might have just shown Klopp how to get more from his potential record signing.
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