Pat Nevin suggested that Liverpool have a far more natural striker in their ranks than Darwin Nunez after their FA Cup win over Norwich City on Sunday.
The Reds booked their ticket to the fifth round by putting five past David Wagner’s side at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s men had five different goalscorers in the 5-2 victory.
Darwin Nunez actually scored Liverpool’s second with a smart finish into the bottom corner. It was the Uruguayan’s 11th goal of the campaign in all competitions. Meanwhile, he also has 10 assists.
Diogo Jota meanwhile, added a third early on in the second-half. The Portuguese capitalised on a mistake from Ben Gibson to fire home his third goal in his last three appearances.
‘More natural striker than Nunez’…BBC pundit so impressed by one Liverpool player against Norwich todayPhoto by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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‘More natural striker than Nunez’…BBC pundit so impressed by one Liverpool player against Norwich today
Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris
Sun 28 January 2024 17:45, UK
Pat Nevin suggested that Liverpool have a far more natural striker in their ranks than Darwin Nunez after their FA Cup win over Norwich City on Sunday.
The Reds booked their ticket to the fifth round by putting five past David Wagner’s side at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s men had five different goalscorers in the 5-2 victory.
Darwin Nunez actually scored Liverpool’s second with a smart finish into the bottom corner. It was the Uruguayan’s 11th goal of the campaign in all competitions. Meanwhile, he also has 10 assists.
Diogo Jota a more natural striker than Darwin Nunez
Diogo Jota meanwhile, added a third early on in the second-half. The Portuguese capitalised on a mistake from Ben Gibson to fire home his third goal in his last three appearances.
Nunez Jota
Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
And speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Nevin suggested that Jota has that ruthless streak in front of goal Nunez lacks.
“The problem for Norwich is if you push up Liverpool are very good on the break. Gibson just managed to head it up in the air and you can’t do that with Jota around. Jota doesn’t bother taking a touch he just leathers it past the goalkeeper and that is a natural striker’s goal. Jota is a far more natural striker than Nunez,” he said.
Liverpool striker’s purple patch may not be too far away
Nunez is arguably not getting the credit he deserves. He does miss plenty of chances – only four Premier League players are performing worse against their expected goals tally, according to FBRef – but 21 goal involvements in 33 games is an outstanding return.
In fairness, Nevin is only discussing Nunez’s quality as a goalscorer. But the most important thing is that the Liverpool fans love Nunez and have not lost faith in him.
Jota has been exceptional since his return for Liverpool. He has definitely stepped up and into the void Mohamed Salah has left while away on international duty.
But when the time comes for another player to step up, it should come as absolutely no surprise if Nunez proves to be their difference-maker.
