It feels like one step forward, two steps back, another couple of steps forward, and a somersault sideways for Darwin Nunez in a Liverpool shirt. The enigmatic striker continues to blow hot and cold, but at least the Liverpool hierarchy should still be able to cash in this summer.
Having arrived at the Merseyside outfit for a club-record £85million, Nunez has struggled to nail down a starting position, firstly under previous boss Jurgen Klopp and now under current manager Arne Slot. Of Liverpool’s 28 league outings this term, Nunez has started just eight - an indication as to where Slot’s current loyalties lie.
Instead, Nunez has tended to feature more often from the bench. That was the case in the French capital last week for Liverpool’s first-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain, when Nunez was subbed into the game late on and helped set up Harvey Elliott’s dramatic winning goal.
However, he was handed a starting berth for the weekend win over Southampton, even popping up with a much-needed equaliser when Liverpool were struggling to break down the basement dwellers’ defence. The 25-year-old is unlikely to feature in Slot’s long-term plan, but his two cameos in the last week have at least proven he still holds some transfer value ahead of the summer window.
Speaking about the former Benfica star, Slot said after Saturday’s win: “That's also the life of a No.9 – you go from missing a chance to scoring an important goal to then, all of a sudden, missing a chance again. But I think today, especially in the second half, you also saw the work-rate he can bring to the team. But the main thing that happened was in the second half we started to play in a different tempo – not only without the ball but also with the ball.
“The first goal, if you look at Lucho [Luis Diaz], how he takes that one-v-one on, I don't think I can select a clip where that happened in the first half. In the second goal, Ryan Gravenberch pushed up all the way at the 18-yard line to win that ball which led to the foul on Darwin, whereas in the first half every ball that fell out they could just pick up the ball and start to play. The energy in the stadium for the players and the fans in the second half was completely different than the first half.”
Liverpool return to action this evening (Tuesday) when they welcome PSG for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Victory against the Ligue 1 outfit will set up a quarter-final clash against either Aston Villa or Club Brugge.