Liverpool players haven’t had too many positive things said about them in the press over recent days.
The Reds have pretty much been getting pelters since they failed to put Manchester United away at Old Trafford last Sunday.
In the nine days since then, Liverpool have lost twice at Anfield, conceding five goals and scoring none, and look on the verge of crashing out of both the Europa League and Premier League title race. Some week, huh.
On top of that, players like Darwin Nunez have been receiving heavy criticism for the part they’ve played in Liverpool’s dip in form.
However, although some of the frustration towards Nunez has been warranted, it’s also nice to see that there’s still room for some positivity after all.
What’s been said about Darwin Nunez
We’ve got to come clean here. Although Chris Sutton has indeed been positive about Nunez while speaking to BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, his praise was also laced with criticism.
For, while Sutton claims that the 24-year-old is a player he ‘can’t take his eyes off,’ he has also slammed him as being ‘not good enough’ in terms of finishing.
A mixed bag then, but that’s about as good as Darwin is getting right now.
“The player I’d single out is Darwin Nunez,” says Sutton. “You can’t take your eyes off him when he plays he is an all action guy. He puts himself about, he’s willing, players bounce off him. He’s so, so watchable but his finishing isn’t good enough.
“In moments like that, Liverpool have a ridiculous amount of points from losing positions. Their powers of recovery have been monumental, astonishing at times.
“But he had a golden opportunity against Palace, he has to score it. He doesn’t take it and that is the difference.”
Is the Darwin Nunez criticism warranted
Nunez has been a divisive figure ever since he arrived at the club in 2022. And although there has been plenty of good in the almost two years since, he still hasn’t convinced a lot of people.
At one stage this season, that had appeared to changed. The Uruguayan had adapted and was effective both in front of goal and in assisting his teammates. He’s now hit 30 goal contributions for the Reds this season, something Sadio Mane only did once in six years.
But over the past few weeks, standards have slipped a little for Nunez. He has continued to miss chances right when Liverpool have needed him to step up.
As a result, we can’t say that the harsh words towards him aren’t justified. It feels like Darwin is costing Liverpool just about every time he plays at the moment. Still, like Sutton says, you can’t take your eyes off him. He could well bang in a hat-trick on Thursday and plenty would be forgiven. Keep going, Darwin.