To many, Darwin Núñez is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Lovingly referred to as the Chaos Himbo by many supporters, Núñez is both exhilarating and exasperating at the same time. The big Uruguayan will miss a tap in before unleashing a ridiculous goal from a crazy angle.
When Núñez joined [Liverpool](https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/), it was known that he was quite raw and not the finished article. He made strides in his second season with the Reds, notching 11 goals and 8 assists in the Premier League last year.
It was expected that Núñez would likely play a key role for Arne Slot, who saw Santiago Giminez notch 23 goals as the point striker in his Feyenrood side last year. Instead, Liverpool have seen most of their attacking threat come from the wide forwards rather than the point striker.
Núñez, who has always thrived as a shot merchant, has seen a drastic decrease in shot attempts, falling from a massive 4.7 attempts per 90 last season to 2.3 attempts this season. His expected goals metric per 90 has also fallen precipitously, going from 0.72 to 0.3. The drop in output from Núñez has led to many Liverpool supporters and others to deem the Uruguayan a bust.
Despite the supposed struggles of Núñez, Liverpool’s main attacking threat, one Mohamed Salah, has come to the defense of Núñez. While on a recent Q&A sponsored by the banks Visa and El Mashrek, Salah was asked who his preferred striker partner was. Since the departure of the incomparable Roberto Firmino, the answer has been the Chaos Himbo.
“Who do I most like to play with? It was Firmino. Now I feel like I generally like playing with Núñez.”
When the supporter who asked the question didn’t seem to like the answer, Salah continued with his stated preference. Salah feels a lot of people don’t quite see all the good things that Núñez brings to the table.
“A lot of people don’t like him but I like playing with him. I see Bahaa (the man in the video asking the question) keeps shaking his head not liking \[Núñez\]. Nah, I like playing with him in general. He is a player with different skills. Not a lot of people understand his ball.”
Many pundits and supporters will continue to dissect the role and output of Darwin Núñez. To me, as long as Mo is happy, I am happy.