Darwin Nunez was furious.
In the 97th minute, after outmuscling Chelsea’s Renato Veiga in a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, referee John Brooks deemed the Liverpool forward had fouled his opponent.
A free kick provided Chelsea one more chance to attack.
Nunez refrained from taking his frustration out on the ball, instead wheeling away in disgust (as did his manager Arne Slot on the touchline).
It was more akin to the type of reaction a striker might have after missing a big chance to win a game.
If you were to glance at Nunez’s attacking output — zero shots in 60 minutes — you would be forgiven for thinking the striker had been anonymous. In 54 appearances last season, Nunez only failed to register a shot in five matches, none of which saw him play more than 28 minutes.
Last season, Nunez averaged 4.7 shots per 90 in the Premier League, the most of any player. Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz was the only other player to average more than four (4.1).
This season, he has not had a shot in three matches in all competitions already. A stat such as that in isolation suggests Nunez is struggling to adapt to his new head coach’s method, but on the most recent evidence, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Nunez’s all-action display had everything Slot wants from his frontman, with the exception of in the opposition penalty area. It also indicates that the belief that those working with Nunez have in his ability is not misplaced.
“There’s a lot of confidence in him,” Slot told reporters during his post-match press conference after the 3-0 victory over Bournemouth last month. “There will be enough time to judge Darwin — if he improves and how he improves and if he can do special things for the club.
“I think it comes down to what you have to do when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball and fit his own characteristics into that. We did work with him on his qualities to get the best out of him, but there’s also a general thing he has to understand, like all the others.”
Against Chelsea, Nunez contested the most duels of any player (17) on the pitch and won the most (9), recording a 100 per cent tackle success rate (three out of three) and three ball recoveries.
Nunez was left out of the starting XI on Sunday, but after Diogo Jota picked up an injury, he was called into action just before the half-hour mark.
His first touch was a flick to Mohamed Salah, which nearly turned into a one-two, but the Egypt international’s return pass was overhit. It was a needed burst of energy after Liverpool were beginning to be penned in despite being a goal ahead.
Six minutes later, Nunez demonstrated the other side to his game, winning possession back on the edge of his own box after he tracked Moises Caicedo. He then turned defence into attack, releasing Cody Gakpo with a perfectly weighted pass that led to a shooting opportunity for Dominik Szoboszlai.
The theme continued. Everything he did worked, which is not always the case. Nunez, at times, can feel like an in-game momentum player: when things are going right, they keep going right and vice versa.
There were two more instances in the first half of Nunez getting back to win possession for his team.
First from Caicedo, in which he won the ball and moved his team forward…
… and then from Romeo Lavia. He did not give up after the midfielder initially skipped past him.
When asked about how Liverpool limited Chelsea to just two shots in the game, Virgil van Dijk told reporters: “I think it is the work we put in — and it starts up front. That is the most important thing: you see Darwin coming on, winning balls on the edge of our box and that is a good sign.
“It’s obviously a good basis to have because if you are defensively solid and you’re not conceding many goals or any goals at all, I think that is always a good way to success.”
On the ball, Nunez played his part in Liverpool’s offside goal, winning his duel to complete a one-two with Curtis Jones.
The same combination nearly won the team’s second penalty. With Gakpo in space, Nunez played the more difficult pass into Jones, who was brought down by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
When he wasn’t able to link play and get Liverpool on the front foot in the first half, Nunez used his physicality to win free kicks. It offered his team-mates a breather and a chance to gain territory…
He picked up where he left off in the second half, too…
Nunez also showed himself to be an asset from defensive set pieces, making two headed clearances. Then, when Liverpool’s pressing approach was tweaked in the second half, his intensity didn’t wane.
Nunez was serving a suspension during the September international break, which meant more time on the training pitch with Slot and his coaching staff.
A successful appeal allowed him to return to action with Uruguay this month and Liverpool were pleased as it was felt he needed minutes on the pitch. He played two full games as Uruguary lost to Peru (1-0) and drew with Ecuador (0-0) and he returned looking sharper.
And despite his limited action for his club (Nunez has played 194 minutes in the Premier League, with only one start), the forward continues to look engaged.
His attitude and desire to help Liverpool win has never been in question, but he has not always channelled it in the correct way. Under Slot, there are signs of progress.
When Salah tussled with Veiga, Nunez was immediately over to act as a bodyguard and stand up for his team-mate.
This was during the period in the game when he was involved in a back-and-forth battle with Benoit Badiashile, which earned him a yellow card. This action also ramped up the volume at Anfield.
The wait for Liverpool now is to learn the extent of Jota’s injury. The Portugal international will not be involved in the Champions League tie against RB Leipzig, so the expectation is Nunez will start and it could give him a chance to put together a run of performances that make him undroppable when his team-mate returns.
Nunez has threatened to take that next step on many occasions. This time last year, he was earning plenty of praise for his all-round performances and went on to score in three consecutive matches against Toulouse (Europa League), Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth.
It would be the perfect time to do that again.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
