Darwin Nunez was at his best. Subsequently, in a characteristic manner, the Liverpool attacker accomplished reaching even higher levels of success.
Nunez took it upon himself to rush back and reclaim the ball while moving towards his own goal shortly after halftime, then lose it as the final man in the defensive line before quickly winning it again and launching the home team on the attack. The Reds were struggling for possession in midfield at the moment.Anfield was enthralled with it.
Less than ten minutes later, Nunez scored from a header forward by Diogo Jota, showing strength, grace, and poise to sidestep a defender, sidestep the goalie, and then bang his shot against the post with the goal open.
Following up, Ryan Gravenberch duly completed the task to score Liverpool’s fourth goal on a night when they defeated Toulouse 5-1 to move to within two points of qualifying for the Europa League knockout rounds.
But the Reds supporters knew who really should have had the goal. In any event, the Uruguayan’s performance as a whole had already guaranteed him a goal when the ball broke to him inside the penalty area. He boldly smashed into the roof of the net from an angle to score Liverpool’s third.Nunez was having fun, as he has been all season, unburdened by the uncertainties and questions that dogged his challenging rookie campaign. Even though the opponent wasn’t exactly Premier League caliber, he made a strong case for himself to be a more frequent starter by playing off the shoulder of the last defender, pushing with purpose, and being always involved.
With 12 games played so far this season, the forward has five goals and four assists, and he still averages fewer than ninety minutes of goal involvement. Nunez is an agent of change.Nunez, Nunez,” the Kop yelled as the forward acknowledged their applause following the last whistle. The Uruguayan is a unique individual, and Anfield embraces him for who he is.
