Darwin Nunez hasn't scored the goals to match his performances for Liverpool this season but change could be around the corner
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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot with Darwin Nunez
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot with Darwin Nunez(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Darwin Nunez was becoming the latest in a long list of Liverpool players to curse the acrobatics of Thibaut Courtois. And, for the casual observer, it appeared another game of missed opportunities for the forward.
Nunez was denied inside five minutes by the Real Madrid goalkeeper - Raul Asencio then doing well not to put the ball into the back of his own net - and later on in the first half was thwarted at point-blank range by Courtois after pouncing on a loose ball. In between, there was a tussle with Asencio that saw the Uruguay international end up on the deck and pick up a booking for his troubles.
Throw in an improvised header that dropped agonisingly wide of the far post, in some regards it was a throwback to a Nunez performance under Jurgen Klopp, all hustle and bustle but lacking the reward it perhaps deserved.
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For many Liverpool supporters, though, the abiding memory of Nunez on the evening was that of him performing a Cruyff turn on Jude Bellingham by the Kop end before sprinting away down the left flank.
That Nunez was in the position to help out his defence during a rare first-half foray from the visitors was instructive, and a further example of how, since regaining his place following the injury to Diogo Jota, he was become fully invested in the teamwork and sacrifice demanded from head coach Arne Slot.
Consider these comments from Slot in September. “I think it comes to what do you have to do when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball, and fit his own characteristics into that," said the Liverpool boss. "We did work with him on his qualities to get the best out of him. But there’s also a general thing he has to understand, like all the others.
"We have shown him videos. That is about team orientation, where to position himself when we have the ball, when we don’t have the ball. So this is what we show them a lot, and then how he can bring the best out of his own qualities compared to the other players we have."
Nunez's subsequent performances suggest he has bought into that ethos, even if it means he at present isn't proving quite the same goal threat as in previous Liverpool campaigns.
In the Premier League, the 25-year-old last season was averaging 4.7 shots per game. That number is less than half this time around at 2.27. That said, his goals per shot ratio is currently the second best in his domestic league career, surpassed only by the frequency with which he scored the final of his two seasons at Benfica.
Nevertheless, with just three goals, he is the least prolific of the five main Liverpool forwards. Mohamed Salah leads the way with 12 goals, Luis Diaz has nine and Cody Gakpo seven. Jota, who has missed the last eight games, has four strikes.
There is, though, evidence Nunez can come on strong in the second half of the season. And once again previous comments from Slot prove illuminating when discussing how, at his former club Feyenoord, Mexico international striker Santiago Gimenez scored just twice in the first half of his debut season working under the coach before going on to become top scorer the following campaign.
"Santiago is a nice example of him scoring a lot of goals," said the Liverpool head coach. "It took him some to adjust to the intense playing style of what we want from him, and then at a certain moment his goals came.
"If you look back at my whole period at Feyenoord, the forwards all scored their goals."
Slot will hope Sunday's clash against Manchester City at Anfield is the perfect time for Nunez to underline that assertion.