Liverpool FC Forum

[Reg]

Interesting piece in The Times this morning comparing Nunez's impact on the game compared to Sancho but he maintains the Captain Chaos character:

It was hard not to be struck by the contrast between Núñez and Sancho: between a player who hasn’t yet had the full benefit of his manager’s trust but made a compelling case for more involvement and one who gave his coach reason to lower his estimation of him; between a forward who plays an unpredictable, unruly game that elevates and energises those around him, and one whose palette of neatness and technical finesse seemed here to suck some of the life out of his team’s attack.

For Jadon Sancho, this was perhaps the first time in years that he had entered a really big game with a contrail of recent form behind him. He had assisted three goals in his previous four Premier League starts — that on the back of an intermittently excellent end to last season with Borussia Dortmund — and carved out a consistent starting berth on the left of Enzo Maresca’s 4-2-3-1. Two seasons ago he scored against Liverpool, a fine goal at the high point of his Manchester United career.

Up against a full back in Trent Alexander-Arnold, who can be vulnerable in one-v-one situations, this was Sancho’s moment to deliver. From the start of the first half it was clear that much of the game would flow through him, with Chelsea having plenty of possession, looking to spread the play quickly to the undermanned side and pushing Malo Gusto up high in the left half-space in support.

Plenty of times Sancho received the ball on the touchline, his body canted diagonally towards the goal, Alexander-Arnold there to be run at. There was one moment where he could feel genuinely hard done by: when Alexander-Arnold accidentally stood on his foot as he cut the ball back, he should have earned his team a penalty. But that was the exception in an otherwise muted performance in which Sancho offered the cage player’s street-mime of unpredictability — that moment, mid-dribble, where he jockeys the ball from foot to foot — without the threat of the real thing.

Too often, at almost every occasion it seemed, Sancho’s real, undisguised intent was to pass the ball back inside, usually to Gusto. This has been his fundamental flaw as a Premier League player: he is an excellent passer, at his best amid the triangles of combination play, but he has neither the explosive burst nor the unbalancing trickery to beat his full back on the outside. He is a player who loves to circulate but cannot circumnavigate, and eventually the defender realises it. Alexander-Arnold knew deep down that he didn’t have to watch his outside shoulder, that the inevitable gravity of Sancho’s instinct would eventually usher him back inside.

It wasn’t just that Sancho’s forays ended in blind alleys or backward passes, slowing Chelsea in moments when they sought an injection of tempo and intensity; there were times when his ineffectiveness actually rebounded on his team. It was Sancho’s losses of possession that led to the Liverpool transition in which Tosin Adarabioyo was lucky not to be sent off for hauling down Diogo Jota, and the one in which Cody Gakpo set up a great chance for Dominik Szoboszlai.

There is a fundamental and inescapable irony to Sancho’s career. Ever since he left the Manchester City academy to carve his own path in the Bundesliga, the reputation has attached itself to him, unfairly, of someone dangerously in thrall to his own urges, a bit of a troublemaker. Erik ten Hag and Gareth Southgate seemed to treat him as if he were made of nitroglycerine. And yet, on the pitch, Sancho is the furthest thing from this wild enfant terrible. He is predictable, placid, almost polite in the technical excellence of his mannerisms. So placed, so clean, so rhythmical are his movements — up, back, to the side, outside-of-the-foot pass — he has something of the quality of the dressage horse about him.

Núñez, by contrast, is the wild stallion. You sense that, while Sancho is too aware of what he is ultimately going to try when he picks up the ball, Núñez doesn’t quite know himself. After he replaced Jota with half an hour gone, his first touch was a brilliant jumping side-foot flick behind him, into the path of Mohamed Salah. He nearly got to the return ball ahead of Robert Sánchez and then geed up the Kop with a huge, rousing gesture.

While Sancho won none of his three duels, Núñez won nine, more than anyone else on the pitch. He was everywhere, dropping back into midfield to link play and win balls, leading the press with ferocity and intelligence, taking up residence in Benoît Badiashile’s head. It was a performance, for all its rough edges, to underline his value to Slot. Sancho, meanwhile, ends the week where Núñez began it: up in the air.

[kazza]

I think wild stallion is a good way to describe him. What I like most about Nunez is he always looks up for it. Even after a glaring miss he seems to brush it off and keep at it (only to make another glaring miss  ). But still, it’s hard to not like him. My gripe with him is killing opportunities by being offside. Still he certainly raises hell and must  be hard to play against. I still also feel he is a confidence player and if he gets on a roll he’ll be unstoppable.

[Reg]

Next dilemma: Nunez has 18 months left on his contract and needs to given a new contract, sold this summer or he'll run down his contract and leave for free. You couldn't make it up....

[damjan193]

Sorry but I'm fed up with him. Don't care how he goes as long as he's gone and someone better comes in. The "but he works hard and presses a lot and causes chaos" talks don't cut it for me. He's just not good enough, can't score tap ins, sligthly more than usual weight on a pass for him and the ball bounces off him... and I'm sorry but he's just stupid man, his IQ must be well below the average. He's an expensive flop, a rarity with FSG but it happens. Let's not beat a dead horse, we should cut our losses and move on.

[redshade]

His a donkey mate, I had hoped we got rid of him in the summer. Had we someone who decent last season in place of him we would probably won the Epl.

[Reg]

Call Ben Doak back from Middlesborough and get rid of Andy Nunez this January.

[devaney]

Unfortunately the lad has been a massive disappointment this season after showing some slight signs of improvement last season. In the last 2 seasons apart from 1 goal against Arsenal he hasn’t scored against any of the top clubs. I think both Nunez and Amorim have realised that the Premiership is a vastly different challenge than the Primeira Liga in Portugal. Short of selling him back to Benfica I’m really not sure who would take a chance on him for reasonable money.

[kazza]

He’s scored 13 from 33 matches for Uruguay, 48 from 85 matches for Benfica and 36 from 113 matches for us. The way he plays seems suited to the PL, he’s a bit of a head scratcher. He has the tools like speed, size and strength but lacking composure and game intelligence.

[leeroy74]

said it last season - he's absolute tripe. move him on

[redshade]

He’s scored 13 from 33 matches for Uruguay, 48 from 85 matches for Benfica and 36 from 113 matches for us. The way he plays seems suited to the PL, he’s a bit of a head scratcher. He has the tools like speed, size and strength but lacking composure and game intelligence.

If he converted 25% of the chances he has his numbers would be considerably higher. There is only a certain amount you could teach someone.

[7_Kewell]

When I watch Nunez play I always remember a thing Stu the Red used to say about a player being a lost cause if they don’t have key skills and instincts by the time they hit their early 20s.

I get that feeling with Darwin. He just lacks the ability to find the net. Torres, Sturridge, Suarez, Mane, Mo…all natural finishers. And they’d get a goal from any angle.

Darwin is quick and can score a great goal, but he’s not a natural finisher.

[woof woof !]

Post last nights Carabao game v Man City .

How many chances does this fella need before he sticks one in the net  ?

He did some good work, his pace is outstanding and seems committed, works hard etc BUT when it comes to a final finish ?   :down:   For Fu*ks sake at least make the goalie make a save 

Some may say he's a young player still learning his game. He's 23 ! and on the cusp of what would be for many strikers the best chapter of their footballing lives.

I don't know lads but given the chances he's had, and not just in last nights game, surely we should expect better ?

Looking back , Two Years ON ! You weren't wrong Woof ,     

[kazza]

Although they look different both physically and style of play, you could argue that he’s similar to Dirk Kuyt. Both worked for the team but frustrated fans by how many chances they missed. When Kuyt (who I think was more intelligent) played for us we hadn’t just seen Salah, Mane and Firmino but I remember how he split opinion between not good enough and works hard for the team. Coming after those three Darwin looks much worse than Kuyt because we have been spoilt by one of the best attacking trios the prem has seen.

My only real gripe with him is the amount of times he’s caught offside that ends up canceling an opportunity. That should be a simple fix if he was of even average intelligence which clearly he isn’t.

[Reg]

You'll be comparing him to Sammy Lee next....

[devaney]

Kazza my patience has been tested to the very maximum by Darwin. I’m very surprised  that your only concern is the number of times he finds himself in an offside position, especially as I tend to agree with most things that you have to say. Personally, my list is slightly longer than yours. I simply don’t think that he is up to Premiership standard. He certainly does not appear to have the necessary intelligence to perform at the very highest level. We paid a very high price for Darwin as a striker and basically his game to scoring ratio is extremely poor when you compare him to other top strikers. Unfortunately, as much as I like the lad I think we have bought a dud and it’s time for him to move on. I’m not being facetious when I say this why not try him as a central defender as we have problems in that area at the moment. He’s proved on numerous occasions that he’s actually quite good defensively..