Uruguayan international Darwin Nunez joined Liverpool in the summer of 2022, replacing Senegalese international Sadio Mane.
The striker, who scored many goals during his time at Benfica, was expected to match Mohamed Salah in scoring, but in his first season, his numbers did not improve as much as expected due to his weakness in one-on-one situations.
In his second year, he is in better form, scoring a dramatic equalizer and a comeback goal against Newcastle. He has been under the tutelage of great coaches, Jurgen Klopp at club and Marcelo Bielsa at national team, and his game as a center forward has been polished.
Although he was ruled offside in the last game against Brentford, resulting in no goal, he has been working well with Mohamed Salah, assisting on the first goal of the game.
Former England international Ian Wright, who scored more than 100 goals for Arsenal during his career, praised the player’s game, saying that his game is improving with every game.
“The way he runs the channels, I think his link-up play is getting better every week.”
“We’re still seeing some of the chances [missed] but in the main he looks like somebody whose confidence is not eroded at all.”
“Even when he misses, next week he tries again. You see his link up play with Salah, he’s looking really good.”
Match of the Day 2
He has scored seven goals in 17 games so far this season, which is good enough, and he has also been outstanding in assists with six. The question now is whether he can score as many game-deciding goals as Egyptian King.
At only 24 years old, the Uruguayan forward is still young and has the potential to awaken in the future, but will he be able to step up to a new level?