Darwin Núñez has only scored one Premier League goal for Liverpool so far, but the underlying numbers could dismantle one growing narrative around the football club....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Liverpool’s goalless draw with Everton in Saturday’s Merseyside derby has left them with just nine points from their first six Premier League matches.
This slow start has led some fans to hastily declare this a ‘year of transition’ at Anfield following the record arrival of Darwin Núñez and the departure of Sadio Mané.
With Liverpool committing to an orthodox number nine for the first time in the Jürgen Klopp era, the logic is that it will inevitably take time for them to adjust, and results may suffer before things truly click.
It’s true that there is an ongoing adjustment process. The team’s attacking patterns are changing, and there are moments when Núñez isn’t on the same wavelength as his new teammates.
But even at this stage, there’s a healthy supply line in place. Núñez fired off six shots in his 80 minutes on the pitch against Everton, having attempted five in 57 mins against Crystal Palace and four in 39 off the bench against Fulham.
Having played less than two full matches, and just 32.6 per cent of the minutes available (176 overall), he ranks inside the Premier League’s top 15 for total shots.
Even more strikingly, he’s inside the top eight for expected goals with 2.88.
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The sample size is admittedly tiny, but he’s currently averaging a whopping 7.67 shots per 90 mins, more than anybody else in the division, and 1.45 expected goals (xG) per 90, virtually the same as Erling Haaland at Manchester City (1.48).
Even if these figures aren’t sustainable, they demonstrate that Liverpool have been creating a huge volume of chances for their new centre forward straight off the bat, and that should be seen as very encouraging in an early phase of the integration process. Núñez is making the runs, and his teammates are picking him out.
Already, Liverpool are providing the Uruguayan with the platform to win them games. Now, of course, he has to take the opportunities.
Up to this point, he’s been underperforming in front of goal, converting those 2.88 expected goals into just one actual goal. As Liverpool.com writer Josh Williams put it, Núñez has been making ‘the easy chances look hard and the hard chances look easy so far’.
For every audacious effort that nearly creeps in — like the half-volley that forced a stunning save from Jordan Pickford on Saturday — there’s a much more straightforward opportunity squandered. Indeed, Núñez has already missed four ‘big chances’.
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Perhaps the pressure is playing a part. He’s firmly in the spotlight as potentially the biggest signing in Liverpool’s history, and the glare takes some getting used to. That certainly seemed to be the case on his home debut against Crystal Palace, when his composure completely deserted him on and off the ball.
Still, at Liverpool, there will be every confidence that Núñez, who scored 34 times last season, will soon begin to justify the investment by adding the final piece.
The underlying numbers will not be appreciated more widely, because perceptions are, fairly, determined by the big moments.
Haaland, indeed, is already seen as the grim reaper when it comes to the competitive balance in the Premier League after ruthlessly taking his chances and reaching double figures inside six matches.
But the numbers in this article ought to give Liverpool fans cause for hope. It should be only a matter of time before Núñez elevates this side’s fortunes. That’s why Liverpool invested so much in him.
