Darwin Nunez: Liverpool striker showed his work-rate in 3-0 win vs Ajax | OneFootball

Darwin Nunez has established himself as a must-see player in his brief time at Liverpool, for the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the game.

From looking like Luis Suarez one minute to Andy Carroll the next, with a headbutt against Crystal Palace somehow fitted in, the Uruguayan striker is certainly never far from the headlines.

This “high ceiling, low floor” was evident once again last night in Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat of Ajax which sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the sixth straight season under Jurgen Klopp.

Nunez scored and missed a sitter – all in a night’s work

Nunez first missed an absolute sitter in the 44th minute when he somehow contrived to hit the post with the goal gaping following an unselfish pass from Roberto Firmino. The internet readied itself for another night of memes that have become commonplace since his big money move from Benfica.

While a few gags were made at his expense during the half time break, Nunez made his critics eat their words within four minutes of the restart.

From an Andy Robertson corner, Nunez muscled his way past the Ajax defenders to power home a header. A header as good as his first-half miss was shambolic, and a snapshot of him as a player in English football so far.

Video: Darwin Nunez’s tracking back is something to behold

However, what has also been striking about Nunez’s performances so far is his crazy work-rate, which was further exemplified in a clip shared by The Anfield Wrap on Twitter after the game.

The striker is spotted galloping back past midfielders, notably Jordan Henderson, to cover the oncoming Ajax attack. He then breaks up play like the Fabinho of old, carries the ball out and starts a new phase of play for the Reds.

By design or not, Nunez is an all-action agent of chaos every time he steps onto the pitch, and pure entertainment guaranteed almost all of the time. It’s for things like this, and the tribalism against criticism, that he has become a firm favourite amongst the Kop faithful.

And who knows? If being Liverpool’s main goal-getter doesn’t work out, a career as a midfield battering ram could yet be in his future. It worked for Joelinton at Newcastle, didn’t it?