Darwin Nunez: Liverpool’s Captain Chaos proves a lucky charm again as Reds beat Aston Villa to go five points clear | OneFootball

Darwin Nunez really is Liverpool‘s Captain Chaos.

The Uruguayan has had an interesting time at Liverpool so far. His arrival at Anfield coincided with Erling Haaland joining Manchester City, so the two have often been compared.

That hasn’t been a fair comparison, with Haaland scoring 75 goals in 77 Premier League games, among many more across all competitions. And Nunez’s record in his first season for Liverpool wasn’t great.

The Uruguayan scored 15 goals in 42 games (26 starts) across all competitions in 2022-23, and struggled to make his mark on Liverpool’s front three. Last season, Nunez hit double figures in the Premier League, scoring 11 in 36 games. Across all competitions he hit 18 in 54.

His assist numbers also went up last season, to 13 across all competitions. In total, Nunez was directly involved in 31 goals at an average of 0.93 across all competitions. He’s not Haaland, but he became a valuable asset for Liverpool.

But, Nunez was still Nunez. Across all competitions last season, Nunez had 47 big chances. He scored nine, missing 38. And forwards are often criticised more for their misses than their goals.

“You know, you’re the best player in the world if you have the worst game in the world and you score two goals,” Pat Nevin told Squawka recently when talking about Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.

“That’s the way it is with strikers, and they have to live with that. You can have a brilliant game, but if you miss a chance, you’re having a stinker.”

Across all competitions this season, Nunez has three goals and two assists. He’s also scored two of his five big chances across all competitions.

One goal and two big chances missed came against Aston Villa, in what can only be described as a typical Nunez game.

Nunez opened the scoring for Liverpool midway through the first half, capping off a swift counter. The move came from an Aston Villa corner, with Mohamed Salah played through by Virgil van Dijk.

Salah was brought down by Leon Bailey but the ball fell to Nunez who took the ball around Emiliano Martinez before coolly finishing. It was just the second goal Nunez has scored from what Opta would class as a counter-attack, having taken 25 shots from fast breaks.

Nunez has now been directly involved in 12 goals across his past 16 Premier League starts, scoring eight with four assists.

Not long after, Nunez could scored had a second in an almost carbon copy.

Another Aston Villa corner saw Liverpool break, with Nunez now the one played through. But closing in on goal, Nunez shot went wide and didn’t trouble the goalkeeper. A big chance missed.

There was another big chance missed shortly after the break, as Nunez headed wide from a cross from close range. But Nunez was making his mark on the game, by finding himself in the right positions. Nunez was taken off midway through the second half as Slot tried to shake things up, but it was a positive display from the Uruguayan.

He’s also proving to be something of a good luck charm. with Liverpool winning each of their last 16 Premier League games when Nunez has scored.

And he’s had to fight for his spot as Liverpool’s starting striker. Arne Slot has shared the responsibilities through the middle for Liverpool this season. Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota have all had their goes at leading the line.

In the Premier League, Diaz has mostly played on the wing, scoring five goals so far. But in midweek in the Champions League the Colombian got his chance through the middle. And he took it, with a hat-trick against German champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Jota, meanwhile, had scored two goals in six Premier League games for Liverpool before suffering an injury. His absence was seen as a huge blow for Liverpool at the time, but the Reds have been able to manage thanks to Diaz and Nunez.

Of the trio, Diaz does slightly lead for goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League at an average of 0.7. Nunez is second on 0.5, while Jota has 0.4. Diaz actually leads on a few more metrics, but he is aided in chances created and take-ons by playing more on the wing in the league.

Jota, though, has averaged more assists per 90 and has won more fouls and aerial duels than his teammates. Nunez shits top in the trio for shots and shots on target per 90, sharing the latter with Diaz.

Back to the game against Aston Villa, Salah wrapped up the scoring for Liverpool late on after, you guessed it, a break from a Villa corner. The Egyptian has now scored 24 goals from fast breaks since joining Liverpool, nine more than any other player in that time (Son Heung-min is second on 15).

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