Recently, and especially in the last few days, there has been a storm surrounding Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan has been out of form and the goals have been lacking, which ultimately ended with him choosing to delete all Liverpool photos on Instagram and block several accounts on Twitter/X.
Most Liverpool supporters have probably caught on to the criticism against the 24-year-old, and the constructive is justified by the number of wasted goal chances, but has the focus on Nunez ended up with his team-mates getting away cheaper?
If we look at the statistics of Liverpool’s forwards, that could soon be true, and it became a topic of conversation when James Pearce and co sat down to discuss Luis Diaz’s lack of end product on The Athletic’s ‘Walk On’ podcast.
The Colombian has delivered 18 goal points against Nunez’s 31, while at the same time he has been on the field more than his team-mate.
The final product is missing
– If you take the injuries and the loss of flow, which was largely due to his father’s kidnapping earlier in the season, there has always been a conversation about his numbers, how much he contributes.
– He always helps the team in various ways, including by advancing through the joints of the opponents, but we can also look at the West Ham game, where he gets two chances to win the game and make it 3-1. He doesn’t take care of any of them. The question is whether he has the instinct to get the ball into the goal. The same certainly applies to Nunez, says The Athletic journalist Andy Jones.
Although everyone in The Athletic gang would like to see the 27-year-old deliver more often and more consistently, Pearce is clear that he also offers a lot more than just scoring and goal-scoring passes.
– It’s only the final product that’s missing, isn’t it? He is so talented and can be very exciting to watch. I remember earlier in the season looking at his numbers at Liverpool. They are at about one goal per fourth game.
– It feels like it should be better than that, especially when he plays in a team that creates so many chances and dominates possession most of the time.
Expect activity this summer
This is Anfield journalist and Liverpool.no writer David Lynch also writes about the lack of end product in Liverpool’s attack. In a recent article, he draws up, among other things, the statistics “expected goals excluding penalties”, or more neatly “non-penalty xG”.
That list is topped by Liverpool after 36 league rounds with 74.2 expected goals. It is higher than both Arsenal (64.1) and Manchester City (66.9), although the two title contenders have scored more goals than the Reds. A clear sign that several of Liverpool’s attackers are not toxic and cynical enough in front of goal.
In the list of individual statistics, Diogo Jota tops the list with +4.7 xG, which means that the Portuguese has scored 4.7 goals more than what a normal Premier League striker would do in similar positions. Cody Gakpo is 0, while Mohamed Salah (-1.4), Luis Diaz (-3.4) and Darwin Nunez (-4.4) have all underperformed in front of goal in 2023/24.
It is a problem Michael Edwards and co must take seriously towards the summer transfer window, according to Lynch.
“The obvious alternative (to the problem) is to make changes in attack, which is thought to be a likely target for the coming summer. The obvious priority will be a young, flexible striker, capable of finishing and scoring regularly. Therefore, the constant rumors about PSV’s Johan Bakayoko and Leeds’ Cryscensio Summerville make sense”.
Tags: Questioning Luis Diazs final product
