One of football’s most interesting characters.
Darwin Nunez was given Man of the Match by Amazon for Liverpool’s win over Aston Villa on Monday evening, much to the confusion of football fans everywhere.
It was a classic Nunez performance, as he proved to be the most chaotic man on the pitch, while narrowly missing three or four chances.
He put himself about, as he always does, and the fact that he missed so many chances does also imply he is getting a lot of chances.
His running in behind was magnificent, and no Villa player even came close to catching him when he started to extend his long legs.
He is a physical specimen, and once he gets going he is among the quickest players in the Premier League, so it’s clear to see why Jurgen Klopp likes him so much.
Plus, when he misses chances, he doesn’t ever look too bothered. When Timo Werner and Alvaro Morata came to the league, they looked like sad puppies when running through on goal. No confidence whatsoever, and it was made worse by every miss.
Nunez will benefit from the fact that he looks unbothered by these misses, and the social media pile on that comes with every time he laces up his boots.
What is Darwin Nunez?
But to give him Man of the Match makes virtually no sense. The justification on Amazon was that he was a threat throughout, and that if he put one of his chances away, it would have looked like a completely different performance.
Jurgen Klopp: “Darwin Nunez played an incredible game. He will score goals, I have no doubt about that”. 🔴 #LFC
“He gives us so much more than that – he will score… everywhing will be fine. This game by Darwin was exceptional”. pic.twitter.com/Noqms4F8H9
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 26, 2022
But he didn’t score. The same way he didn’t score against Manchester City during the week, despite having quite a few chances to do so. He kept missing chances, and getting back up to miss another.
This is a debate that will likely last the whole season, and more. Nunez is a chaotic player, and his performances create a conversation.
From a neutral’s perspective, it’s excellent. The audience holds its breath when he runs through on goal, which happens in every single game.
It’s a joy, and Nunez is a joy. It will remain impossible to make sense of him until he starts finishing his chances consistently.
Until then, half of the footballing world will be giving him Man of the Match awards for missing huge chances, and the rest will think he’s the worst player in the league.
As always, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
Read next: Jorginho linked with move from Chelsea to Newcastle
Read More About: Darwin Nunez, Liverpool
