When Darwin Nunez joined Liverpool in 2022, the Uruguayan had big expectations on his shoulders after a stellar campaign at Benfica. Many of the Liverpool fans wanted another world-class forward from South America, following in the footsteps of Roberto Firmino and Luis Suarez.
However, things weren’t easy for him, as he was in and out of the side over the course of the season and he wasn’t hitting the numbers people anticipated when he signed for his new club. With Liverpool already having Diogo Jota at the club, plus the addition of Cody Gakpo in the winter window, many speculated that Nunez would become the third-choice striker.
Fast forward to the beginning of the 2023/24 season and Liverpool’s away trip to St James Park. Nunez put his name in the lights as he scored twice off the bench, as Liverpool overcame the challenge of Newcastle despite being down to ten men.
Since then, the 24-year-old has had several impressive performances, which have led to numerous goals and assists, and even without the goal contributions, he’s been a vital part of the squad with some great performances. So, the question that’s been on the lips of many is what has changed for Darwin Nunez this season?
Change In System
Liverpool’s peak under Klopp saw Liverpool set up with a 4-3-3 with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah making inward runs from the wing, whilst Firmino would occupy the space between the midfield and the wingers, as he supplied Mane and Salah.
With the addition of Darwin Nunez being a more traditional striker, the change would be needed, but at the beginning of the 2022/23 season, no change was made, and Nunez was used in a similar way that Firmino was used which caused friction across the front three of Nunez, Salah and Luis Diaz.
At a similar time to Nunez’s introduction on Merseyside, Manchester City got their hands on Erling Haaland. What City did differently to Liverpool was they accommodated Haaland’s game, rather than using similar systems to the year before when they used a false nine for large parts of the season. Liverpool on the other hand, didn’t accommodate to Nunez’s play style.
This season, the introduction of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s new inverted role, and the addition of midfielders like Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch took the creative needs off the shoulders of Nunez and shifted his strengths such as his pace in behind, stretching the opposition back line and playing in more attacking scenarios.
In Front Of Goal
Last season, he came under a lot of scrutiny for a lot of chances missed. He seemed to overthink basic chances, which often led to shots dragged wide of the target.
However, Nunez was always getting into the positions to take these chances, which was a big part of his game. Whether he was creating them himself or making the runs off the defenders to find the space, he was always getting chances to find the back of the net.
Coming back to the Newcastle game, it was clear that Nunez had worked on his finishing during the summer as he had two chances and two goals. Whereas last season, he had similar opportunities but would fire them wide of the mark. Since then, he has had a few chances go begging, but it’s considerably less than last season, whilst scoring some great goals such as a volley against West Ham and a fantastic solo finish versus Bournemouth.
The pace and movement from Nunez off the ball is a fear factor for an opposition defence, as he has the intelligence to make the decisive run in the gaps as he bares down on goal. However, it seems to be up to himself on the day if he will be the influential player on the pitch, and more often than not this season, he has been.
Overall, it’s been an impressive start to the season for Nunez, whether it’s for club or country, and if he is able to continue in the same fashion while ironing out a few errors, he will be considered not just one of the best strikers in the Premier League, but one of the best in the world.
Nunez has improved immensely