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Highlights
- Liverpool’s midfield rebuild caused initial doubts about their performance this season, but they have improved since the opening draw against Chelsea.
- One potential setback has been injuries to the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
- Now, during the international break, another Reds star has presented Jurgen Klopp with a fresh concern.
It was difficult to know what to expect from Liverpool at the start of the season, given that their midfield rebuild, at the time, was far from complete. They welcomed both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, but losing Jordan Henderson and Fabinho left them without a natural defensive midfielder, and almost back at square one.
A far from convincing opening day draw against Chelsea then followed, casting further doubts on Jurgen Klopp’s side. Since then, however, the Reds have looked far closer to their best, defeating Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Aston Villa before the international break.
With that said, Klopp would have been hoping to have close to a full squad together after the break, with Ibrahima Konate nearing a return and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s issue not thought to be serious.
What’s the latest Liverpool injury news?
With a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers up next, it looked as though Liverpool were set to head to the Midlands with an almost full squad available. Marcelo Bielsa has since cast doubts over that, however, with an update on his Uruguay squad revealing potentially frustrating news for the Reds.
The former Leeds United boss was speaking in a recent press conference when the subject of Darwin Nunez came up. Bielsa said, via DaveOCKOP: “Darwin arrived with some muscular difficulties and that limited him in his actions, I thought it was necessary to replace him (at half time of their match against Ecuador on Tuesday) because he over worked trying to press and attack in the last game.”
Whilst it’s good to hear just how hard Nunez is working, even when away from Liverpool, those at Anfield would be incredibly disappointed if he missed their clash against Wolves at Molinuex.
Now, more so than ever before, the forward looks set to burst into life in a Liverpool shirt, with his two late goals against Newcastle followed up with an assist against Aston Villa, showing a player finally settling in Merseyside.
How has Darwin Nunez performed this season?
Nunez was a frustrating watch at times last season, as he struggled to discover his ruthless side in front of goal, underperforming his expected goals by three, with nine strikes to his name from 12.1 expected goals, as per FBref. Meanwhile, he also missed 20 big chances – the joint-third most in the Premier League last season.
So far, in the current campaign, however, he has finally found his composure, even outperforming his XG. According to FBref, Nunez has scored twice in 108 minutes with an XG of 1.6. Making one assist on top of that, the former Benfica man has been involved in three goals in just over 90 minutes played this season.
His form has earned him plenty of praise, too, including from Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones, who said, via Empire of the Kop, after Liverpool defeated Aston Villa: “Looking at Nunez’s raw numbers of five shots, all off target and no goals from an expected tally of 1.17 you’d think he’s had a stinker. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Two of those efforts came back off the woodwork, his running off the ball was imperious and he got an assist for Salah’s goal. Destructive performance from the striker.”
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