Liverpool forwards are damned to have their achievements inevitably undermined with the aid of Mohamed Salah whilst he is at the club. The Egyptian these days grew to be the first participant in Reds history to rating 20 dreams in seven consecutive seasons. As Salah has been right here for, you guessed it, seven seasons, it suggests what impossibly excessive requirements his fellow strikers are judged against.
The nature of the media in England capacity that homegrown gamers receive increased credit for their numbers than gamers from distant places tend to as well. There has been substantial hype over Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka in recent months, and rightly so as they are top notch footballers.
The first two have made 28 goal contributions in all competitions in 2023/24, with the Arsenal man going one better. This capacity only Saka has matched the total posted with the aid of Darwin Núñez, yet the Uruguayan doesn’t get talked up to something like the identical extentIt’s inevitable that the former Benfica man is judged to higher requirements when he fee $108m (£85m/€99m), double what Chelsea paid for Palmer with the different two nonetheless at the clubs with whom they came via the ranks. Even so, Núñez is ticking off landmarks that fewer and fewer players from the modern-day records of Liverpool have reached and he deserves to be applauded for doing so.
The 24-year-old’s satisfactory shape persevered in the Reds’ 4-3 more time FA Cup loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. With Liverpool a aim down in the first half, Núñez played the pass from which Alexis Mac Allister equalized, following a best run into the field by way of Jarell Quansah.
The purpose supposed that Núñez has both scored or assisted in 12 of his last thirteen appearances which had been now not towards Arsenal or Manchester City, two of the exceptional facets in Europe. The exception in this run occurred in the 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage which secured Liverpool’s passage to the Carabao Cup final, and even then he had three shots and created two possibilities so used to be hardly ever uninvolved. And let’s no longer forget he received a penalty against Man City at Anfield closing weekend; no longer an legitimate help with Opta but surely indispensable to the purpose being scoredBy teeing up Mac Allister towards United, Núñez moved onto 12 assists for the season. At his current fee for growing desires in 2023/24 and with a maximum of 16 fits remaining, he could be on song for 19 assists if he performed every minute (though that is unlikely).That would put him within one of the membership file for all competitions in the Premier League era, which was once set via Steve McManaman returned in 1995/96. If that’s an unrealistic aim, and it probable is, it’s really worth looking at who else has hit Núñez’s present day help total of 12 for the club.
Full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have, as did Stig Inge Bjørnebye again in the 1990s, however they for sure don’t offer the same level of accompanying aim threat as Núñez. Then consider some of the exceptional forwards who have played for the club however had been now not as powerful for their teammates; Robbie Fowler, Fernando Torres and Sadio Mané by no means recorded a dozen assists in a single season, for instance.
Núñez’s countryman Luis Suárez only reached the mark as soon as (with 14 in 2013/14), as did Michael Owen, while Roberto Firmino logged a 17 and a 13 aid season among his eight years with Liverpool. If you seem to be for gamers with at least 12 assists and 17 goals, Núñez’s contemporary 2023/24 figures, the only man we haven’t yet named is Steven Gerrard, who had three such campaigns in his 2005 to 2009 peak.
And, of course, Salah has performed this 5 times, inclusive of this season. He would possibly be the remaining overshadowing presence, however Núñez’s achievements deserve to receive a little light, in particular on the assist the front
