Darwin Nunez's finishing: Liverpool forward's numbers are poor but what is the problem and will it continue?

The Debrief focuses on the finishing of Darwin Nunez at Liverpool. A key figure in Jurgen Klopp's team, his form in front of goal remains a talking point. Is it a problem for the Reds in the title race? And what hope is there of him turning the numbers around?

Comment and Analysis @ghostgoal

Monday 8 January 2024 12:53, UK

Another four shots without a goal in Liverpool’s FA Cup win at Arsenal, Darwin Nunez continues to be everything but ruthless. But it is now 17 unbeaten with him in the team. Liverpool’s three defeats this season have come when he has been omitted.

It strikes at the heart of the Nunez conundrum. Conversations about the Uruguayan forward's finishing are unlikely to go away — because Nunez himself is not going away. He has become a hugely important figure for Jurgen Klopp in this new Liverpool side.

Arsenal could not cope with him once he drifted to the left. Newcastle had been overwhelmed by his rampaging runs through the middle. The only person capable of stopping Nunez doing what he wants on the football field remains Nunez himself.

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This human blunderbuss, memorably described as an agent of chaos in his first season following his move from Benfica, continues to wreak havoc in the final third of the pitch. But his record of one goal in his last 15 appearances for Liverpool tells another tale.

In that 4-2 win over Newcastle, Nunez's individual expected-goals total of 1.7 was, according to Opta, the highest by any player without scoring in the past three years of the Premier League. This season alone, six men have scored hat-tricks from fewer chances.

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On first-name terms with the ball