Darwin Núñez | Liverpool player | Fighter

Powderfinger said:
Nunez has been one of the best attackers in England this year. The guy has 31 goal involvements (one every 79 minutes) across all competitions and is a huge pain in the ass to play against with his physicality and constant running. He's about as good as Firmino's top level already and has room to go higher at 24. Where the rebuild hasn't gone well is the rest of the attack, as Gakpo is poor, Diaz is always injured and isn't a reliable scorer, and Jota is a great scorer but can't stay healthy and doesn't have the all around game of either Mane or Salah even when fit.

People are so attached to the idea of Nunez as a donkey or a bust but that's just not reality at this point. Unfortunately he's a really really good player and I can only hope Barcelona or Real Madrid come calling in the next couple years with their distinct attractiveness to South Americans (he'd actually be a great foil for Mbappe/Vini, willing to put in the hard yards but also capable of scoring and setting them up).
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stats are part of an argument but not the be all to end all.

He hasn’t scored against a top 6 team all season. His decision making is shocking, he misses sitters on the regular.

Just concentrate on Liverpool Forwards over the years. Fowler, Owen, Torres, Suarez, Mane, Firmino and even Jota. They all score big goals in big games as well as the smaller clubs. Nunez is a flat track bully, he's the most over rated striker in recent memory with pr building media using his terrible misses as a positive giving him stupid nicknames like captain chaos.

The same was done with Countinho, they said he was world class, he never was, he was a good player that had world class moments. Proved at Barca he wasn't the player the media and Liverpool fans told us he was.

If Nunez signed for united and produced the performances of the last 2 seasons in a united shirt the same people that wax lyrical about him would be hammering him relentlessly.
 
Powderfinger said:
Nunez has been one of the best attackers in England this year. The guy has 31 goal involvements (one every 79 minutes) across all competitions and is a huge pain in the ass to play against with his physicality and constant running. He's about as good as Firmino's top level already and has room to go higher at 24. Where the rebuild hasn't gone well is the rest of the attack, as Gakpo is poor, Diaz is always injured and isn't a reliable scorer, and Jota is a great scorer but can't stay healthy and doesn't have the all around game of either Mane or Salah even when fit.

People are so attached to the idea of Nunez as a donkey or a bust but that's just not reality at this point. Unfortunately he's a really really good player and I can only hope Barcelona or Real Madrid come calling in the next couple years with their distinct attractiveness to South Americans (he'd actually be a great foil for Mbappe/Vini, willing to put in the hard yards but also capable of scoring and setting them up).
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They need him to be peak Mane/Salah, and he is a long way off that. He looks terrible in a number of big games and I don’t think he is a good foil for anyone.

You are underestimating how intelligent Firmino was as a player and what allowed him to be such a good foil. Darwin is a handful because of his athleticism and unpredictability., but he doesn’t have the intelligence, composure and poise to be a foil for anyone. He is energetic and a tremendous athlete, but he isn’t a top player for me.

If he remains Liverpools best option post-Salah, that is great news for the rest of the league.

When the overall energy of the team drops post-Klopp, he will be one of the ones that will suffer.
 
Joel Miller said:
Surely not? He botched a brilliant chance to kill the game then handed Rashford the equaliser almost immediately after
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He was a nuisance though and had the header too and the chance you refer to. I think there's a player in there actually but rough around the edges
 
11101 said:
End product? He's a fairly shite finisher and the chaos he brings is for both sides.
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Endproduct = Goals, assists and goal threat.
Firmino averaged on 0,63 xGi/90 (expected direct goalinvolvements per 90 minutes) and never had more than 22 goal involvements in a single PL season for Liverpool despite starting every match when fit for several seasons. He averaged a goal contribution every 143 minutes for Liverpool.
Darwin has averaged on 1,11 xGi/90 for Liverpool and despite horrible finishing for them has averaged a goal contribution every 113 minutes (trending in the positive direction)

He is a nightmare to defend against and plays with an intensity you rarely if ever see.
 
troylocker said:
Endproduct = Goals, assists and goal threat.
Firmino averaged on 0,63 xGi/90 (expected direct goalinvolvements per 90 minutes) and never had more than 22 goal involvements in a single PL season for Liverpool despite starting every match when fit for several seasons. He averaged a goal contribution every 143 minutes for Liverpool.
Darwin has averaged on 1,11 xGi/90 for Liverpool and despite horrible finishing for them has averaged a goal contribution every 113 minutes (trending in the positive direction)

He is a nightmare to defend against and plays with an intensity you rarely if ever see.
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A lesson in overusing stats i think. Firmino was far more effective at bringing others into play and provided a threat himself against big teams due to his superior ability. Nunez is little worry to a solid defence, his technique isnt good enough and being quick and strong only gets you so far. He hasn't done anything against a top 6 rival yet.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
We have no idea in fairness.

Had it not been for a Nani red card, we were in with a great chance of a league & CL double in SAF’s final season.
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Relax. Liverpool is the only team that is in contention of winning a quadruble as early as September. It happens every season - "Look, they are still competing in four tournaments" - yeah, we've hardly kicked a ball... Happens every year. Klopp has 1 PL title and one CL title; he shouldn't be mentioned amongst the greatest PL managers - the top is Ferguson, then there is an argument on Mourinho, Wenger and Pep for the remainding spots in a top three.

And yes, Nunes is a nuisance, but that is about it. Not really sure how effective he is using that pace of his - he often gets into offside positions
 
11101 said:
A lesson in overusing stats i think. Firmino was far more effective at bringing others into play and provided a threat himself against big teams due to his superior ability. Nunez is little worry to a solid defence, his technique isnt good enough and being quick and strong only gets you so far. He hasn't done anything against a top 6 rival yet.
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Except he has goals and/or assists against all 5 of the traditional top 5 (City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United and Spurs)

So let's go into the stats again then, as I still think stats are more accurate than gutfeeling:

Firmino against the traditional top 5 and against the big teams in Europe (Bayern, BVB, RM, Atleti, Barca, Napoli, Inter, PSG):
33 goals and 16 assists in 113 games vs. all these top teams (including 11 goals and 3 assists in 18 games vs. his favourite Arsenal)
0,29 goals/game and 0,43 goals+assists/game.

Darwin vs. top defenses: traditional top 5 and against the big teams in Europe (Bayern, RM, Barca, Napoli, Liverpool):
11 goals and 5 assists in 32 games
0,34 goals/game and 0,50 goals+assists/game.

Who do you think has the highest assistratio or expected assists between the two?
Firmino for Liverpool: 0,22xA/90 and 0,24 assists/90
Darwin for Liverpool: 0,29xA/90 and 0,27 assists/90

Again, totally different players with very different qualities. One very direct and stretches teams while the other falls deep and brings others into play. You like one type of player others like the other type of player. Teams can have use for both types and both types can be equally important for a team, but it's hard to say who's the better player because they have so different skillsets and roles in a team.

Nunez has elite movement and instincts for a goalscorer. If he learns to keep his cool and improve his finishing he'll be WC.
 
It is always difficult to replace Firmino, can't think of many players with his style. With Diaz-Darwin-Salah front 3, you sort of have 3 maniacs running forward all the time, there isn't that much pause being provided. But hey, they are fighting for the league so maybe it will work.
 
Tell you what, this game will do wonders for his xG stat.
 
I just don't see it with him in the big games (which surely he needs to be judged on more than scoring when the Sheffield United keeper kicks it straight at him).

First half he gets away from Kambwala on the touchline but then slows up when inside the box and it neither results in a goal, serious shot or a penalty.

Then he has that nice move with Robertson which does result in a very good save from Onana but surprise surprise he's gone half a yard early and is offside.

Second half Liverpool give away that joke goal which wakes up OT so Man. United have an extra 10% but he can immediately cancel that out with that Liverpool counter. Can see the cross coming and could actually move his body in time so he takes it right footed which would be an easier tap in. Instead gets it all wrong on the left and it's not close to going in.

Salah has an incredible goals and assists record year in year out. Kind of feel it's just taken for granted by many at Liverpool but just replacing him with Nunez running around loads isn't going to cut it next season imo.
 
If the new Liverpool manager isn't interested in leaning into the chaotic ping pong in the box style that Klopp favours then Darwin won't be at Liverpool too long.
 
I can’t believe that Liverpool, a side who have been so astute in their signings, managed to get this one so badly wrong.

He was an absolute lump yesterday. Totally brainless footballer. Basically the opposite of Firmino. Hard to think of a bigger downgrade than that one.
 
He has 18 goals and 13 assists in all all competitions. He's not exactly pleasing on the eye and struggles against tougher opposition, but his numbers have been decent.

A new manager coming in will be interesting. Seeing how it impacts Nunez and how he's used. Klopp teams are heavily attack focused so Nunez gets plenty of chances,

The biggest issue with him is conversion. 123 shows with a goal conversion of 15%. Jota is on 31%. 45 shots, 14 goals.
 
Still more reliable than Salah has been in the past two seasons IMO. If he somehow manages to improve his composure Liverpool will have a Ballon D'or contender. Until then...
 
Klopper76 said:
He has 18 goals and 13 assists in all all competitions. He's not exactly pleasing on the eye and struggles against tougher opposition, but his numbers have been decent.
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That's .... honestly much better than I expected.
 
He got a decent return this season but thats because this liverpool team creates a million chances every game, so he's bound to get a few. But in all honesty, he's not a top level striker that you can rely on to finish off a chance when it really matters. (i'm try really hard not to call him a donkey).



















Bit of a donkey really.
 
The few times I've seen him play I noticed that he is quite fast and that's it. Nothing else really. Mediocre.
 
André Dominguez said:
Do you really think Salah has been playing that good? He was a fantastic player for all that counts, but he is far from his career peak.
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Pretty sure that's not the part he was laughing about
 
awop said:
Pretty sure that's not the part he was laughing about
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Football is all about goals and assists. If (and a big if here, because he is still far from it) Nuñez managed to get more composed he would score a lot of goals. Andy Carrol could barely score a goal for Liverpool for all the comparisons made here.

Jardel was a clumsy player and he was on the Ballon D'Or top 10 for a couple of years.
 
He is a huge threat who is massively erratic. 2 big ones yesterday when he missed that one at the back post on his left foot when all he had to do was pull it back for a simple tap in. I would also say the moment when Willie misread the flight of the ball and let him in down the left was really poor from him, should never be allowing a tackle to be made that does not result in a foul there.
 
Bobski said:
He is a huge threat who is massively erratic. 2 big ones yesterday when he missed that one at the back post on his left foot when all he had to do was pull it back for a simple tap in. I would also say the moment when Willie misread the flight of the ball and let him in down the left was really poor from him, should never be allowing a tackle to be made that does not result in a foul there.
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Sums him up well.

I think the bigger issue is the surrounding set of players. Nunez will make chances for others both directly and because his physicality and movement cause CBs all sorts of trouble. But you need players on the wings and in attacking midfield with the sharpness and hunger to get into the box and then the ability to finish those chances. Other than Salah, who is still elite in this respect, Liverpool lack those players.

Jota is a great finisher but always injured. Diaz gets into good positions but is a poor finisher. Szoboslai and Elliott don't seem to have the instincts to get into the box and latch onto chances from midfield. Gakpo usually alternates with Nunez rather than playing alongside him.
 
Reapersoul20 said:
will be voiced by eddie murphy in the animated liverpool series
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“Shrek and Nunez… on another big adventure!”

(there’s a gif of a horse jumping onto a huge ball and falling off with the ball skewing off. I send it to my Liverpool supporting work colleague every time Núñez does something stupid.… I send it quite often)
 
troylocker said:
Except he has goals and/or assists against all 5 of the traditional top 5 (City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United and Spurs)

So let's go into the stats again then, as I still think stats are more accurate than gutfeeling:

Firmino against the traditional top 5 and against the big teams in Europe (Bayern, BVB, RM, Atleti, Barca, Napoli, Inter, PSG):
33 goals and 16 assists in 113 games vs. all these top teams (including 11 goals and 3 assists in 18 games vs. his favourite Arsenal)
0,29 goals/game and 0,43 goals+assists/game.

Darwin vs. top defenses: traditional top 5 and against the big teams in Europe (Bayern, RM, Barca, Napoli, Liverpool):
11 goals and 5 assists in 32 games
0,34 goals/game and 0,50 goals+assists/game.

Who do you think has the highest assistratio or expected assists between the two?
Firmino for Liverpool: 0,22xA/90 and 0,24 assists/90
Darwin for Liverpool: 0,29xA/90 and 0,27 assists/90

Again, totally different players with very different qualities. One very direct and stretches teams while the other falls deep and brings others into play. You like one type of player others like the other type of player. Teams can have use for both types and both types can be equally important for a team, but it's hard to say who's the better player because they have so different skillsets and roles in a team.

Nunez has elite movement and instincts for a goalscorer. If he learns to keep his cool and improve his finishing he'll be WC.
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Never in a million years would Klopp take Nunez over the years of Firminho he had. Regardless of what stats suggest. He was the perfect Klopp player and would still be perfect for him now.
 
André Dominguez said:
Still more reliable than Salah has been in the past two seasons IMO. If he somehow manages to improve his composure Liverpool will have a Ballon D'or contender. Until then...
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Hahahahaha Salah is phenomenal, Nunez is a joke the amount of chances he misses. You have to be on a wind up
 
André Dominguez said:
Do you really think Salah has been playing that good? He was a fantastic player for all that counts, but he is far from his career peak.
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Salah is one of world's best players, and I am not sure Nunez is even top5 Liverpool's players. You seriously overrate Nunez.
 
Massive improvement since he came to Liverpool. However misses far too many clear cut chances. He actually creates more chances for others. If they can sort out his finishing he'll be pretty good.
 
He has the size, the power, generosity and technical ability...yet he still plays like a youngster in so many aspects, rushing plays, making an attemp were he should had pass, not keeping his head cooler when comes to finishing.

In fact he is kind of the new Torres, if him at some time will peak on Torres best seasons level in EPL (like he did in Benfica), we don't know, but he certainly has similar traits: the speed, the power, the extraordinary goal, with the most insane miss.
 
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