BRENTFORD 3-1 LIVERPOOL: Nunez started in attack for the Reds but the issues in the team were elsewhere as they went down to Thomas Frank’s impressive side
His may be the frustrated face that stares back at you from the web pages, the newspapers and the social media pile-ons, but The Darwin Nunez Issue is nowhere near the top of Jurgen Klopp’s list of Liverpool problems right now. And it’s a big list.
Going into his first visit to Hounslow Nunez had missed big chances in each of Liverpool’s three matches since their return from the World Cup, and people have noticed.
But his effort and endeavour is still there, and instead it is the structural problems behind his major summer signing that Klopp will have to spend far more time trying to solve.
The action at Brentford had begun as advertised, with Nunez causing chaos and spreading so much fear into the home defenders that it was all Mathias Jorgensen could do to chop him down at source in the second minute, earning a booking as he did so.
This is the Nunez that is so remarkable to watch, so big and strong and fast and fearless that it is little wonder that the Liverpool fans who have taken to him the most are those who watch him from the stands week in, week out.
They still sing his name and will him on, doing so before kick-off here, but it is a familiar refrain from opposition supporters which has become the soundtrack to recent matches, and that started immediately after the foul from Jorgensen.
Nunez won’t care of course, and nor is he likely to understand, but the ‘s*** Andy Carroll’ taunts aren’t going to go away unless he starts sticking the ball in the back of the net some time soon, something that he was doing semi-regularly before the World Cup break, but fans don’t care for context or even for a memory that lasts longer than a couple of months where narrative is concerned.
The chance to label the Liverpool signing a big money flop – particularly in the wake of Erling Haaland’s arrival in the Premier League at the same time – is one that was grasped before a competitive ball was even kicked this season, and so anything that fits into that mould is going to be lapped up.
And he might work hard, occupy defenders and continually look so, so dangerous, but as long as there are bitesize highlights of him missing chances to be shared then shared they will be. And mocked he will be too.
He didn’t do much wrong with the effort he saw cleared off the line by Ben Mee in the first half after rounding David Raya, but once again the ball didn’t go into the back of the net off Nunez’s boot, and a sense of familiarity dawned.
A strong header clear from a long throw and a seriously impressive turn of pace down the left were more evidence of the whole package Nunez brings, and marked him out as one of Liverpool’s better performers in a first half in which they wilted badly and completely lost cohesion in midfield, so much so that what was happening in attack would soon matter little.
True, with Liverpool looking so brittle at the back and in the centre they need Nunez – and indeed Mohamed Salah, who it shouldn’t be forgotten has missed almost as many gilt-edged chances as the Uruguayan this season – to take opportunities when they come.
At 2-0 down Nunez looked as though he did that with a fine finish from a fast break only to be found offside by VAR, but with Liverpool lacking creativity after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal and all too willing to bend to the gameplan Brentford wanted them to play, Nunez soon became little more than a battering ram as his side tried to make use of his more rudimentary talents.
It wasn’t a good look, either for him or them, and when he dragged an effort well wide there were deep exhales all round.
He’d pick up a booking as frustrations came to the boil long before Bryan Mbeumo made the game safe for Brentford, and as he trudged off Nunez wore the look of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and little respite from what looks an exhausting task in this team.
Perceived wisdom is that it will eventually come good for him, for he is simply too involved in football matches for it not to.
Whether many of his teammates will be able to ever hit former heights is an another thing entirely though.
Source: www.mirror.co.uk
