The enigmatic Darwin Nunez has had a direct hand in two key victories for Liverpool over solely a matter of days, however there’s no telling if he shall be a hero or inactive within the subsequent two.
It proved fairly the testing week, regardless of the remaining weekend provided by Liverpool’s non-involvement within the fifth spherical of the FA Cup.
Occasions on the Parc des Princes and Anfield led to 2 extra essential victories for Arne Slot‘s males, each had been in the end influenced by the Liverpool supervisor’s footballing downside little one.
A month or two in the past, a WhatsApp message from Jeff Goulding popped up on my telephone, asking if I’d be capable of sub-in for him for his scheduled involvement because the Reds’ speaking head on that night’s BBC Radio Merseyside Whole Sport present.
I unwittingly should have sounded believable sufficient in my opinions to be absorbed inside some kind of rotation system, through which you’re invited again each few weeks.
It was my success that the random generator of this rotation system landed on me once more, 24 hours after Liverpool’s magnificently outrageous win within the French capital, the place many of the red-hued chat revolved across the majestic Alisson‘s life-defining efficiency.
But it surely additionally touched on the state of affairs Harvey Elliott at the moment finds himself in, and the contribution to what was a ram-raiding victory that Darwin Nunez made.
Darwin Nunez the enigma
It made for an attention-grabbing hour of dialog, nevertheless it was after strolling out of the studio that the introspection grew to become slightly deeper when speaking with that present’s Blue speaking head, Max Carlyle, in regards to the complexities of Nunez a bit extra earlier than we drifted our separate methods into the Liverpool night time.
Max doesn’t tick the field of your stereotypical Blue. Whereas he’s massively passionate and vastly insightful in regards to the group of his coronary heart, he’s panoramic sufficient in his love of soccer that he brazenly admires the way in which Liverpool play, and is fascinated by the chemistry of Nunez and the polarising opinions the Uruguayan provokes amongst his Purple-tinted mates – a few of whom are nonetheless defiantly pro-Nunez, whereas others have more and more misplaced their shit over him.
As we stood there chatting, Max requested questions I’d by no means even requested myself about Nunez, and the place my very own ideas stand with him.
I imply, I’ve by no means been massively professional or anti-Nunez in particular person phrases however I’ve all the time held out hope that given time and persistence, every thing would fall into place for him as a part of the collective, from the place his particular person relevance may come to the fore; this in itself not being a Nunez bespoke idea, and as a substitute a rule of thumb that goes for all Liverpool gamers.
A symbiosis is all the time at play on this respect.
On Saturday, as Liverpool stood poised to get the sport restarted after conceding the opening aim towards Southampton, one of many visiting gamers stood semi-provocatively within the centre circle simply contained in the Liverpool half.
With the referee unwilling to renew proceedings, Nunez took it upon himself to shove him within the course of his personal half.
A pink mist was clearly descending upon the Liverpool quantity 9 and inside a brief few moments, a VAR test was happening over a possible pink card after a yellow had been flashed at Nunez for a needlessly rash problem on Kyle Walker-Peters.
The half-time whistle made for a lovely sound and it was going to take a courageous choice by Slot to persevere with Nunez after the interval.
Inactive or a hero once more?
Actually, the good cash was on modifications being made and when three gamers discovered themselves hooked on the interval, it was an affordable shock that Nunez hadn’t been certainly one of them.
Stick or twist, Slot held his nerve the place others would have erred upon warning and he was rewarded royally, as inside 10 minutes of the restart Nunez netted the equaliser, and received the penalty from which Mohamed Salah had given Liverpool the lead.
Nonetheless a pink card danger nevertheless, it felt a little bit of a aid that Nunez was then withdrawn and changed by Diogo Jota simply past the halfway level of the second half.
It was right here the place my chat with Max sprang again into thoughts, which mused the complexities of Nunez’s character, alongside along with his place throughout the panorama of an attacking quintet that principally have one query mark or one other hovering over them.
Be it the Nunez conundrum, Salah’s contract state of affairs, Jota’s health monitor document, or Luis Diaz‘s largely unacknowledged battle for steadiness between the talents he possesses and the tip product that’s typically missing.
In Paris, Nunez was key to Elliott’s late profitable aim, displaying the clever and grown-up streak which lays beneath the floor of chaos that we principally get to see from him, this from the identical participant who ballooned that shot over the crossbar at Villa Park and indulged in a teenage social media strop.
Thus, it’s laborious to come back to a definitive opinion on Nunez as a result of there are a number of excessive personalities at play, which most likely means his future will lay away from Anfield this summer time, particularly if an inflated supply drifts Liverpool’s method from Saudi Arabia, one from which the membership can claw their outlay again.
All of it makes for a kitchen sink drama of a distraction, however one that may’t be allowed to attract gentle from the future that’s looming for the collective.
Victory over Southampton has introduced Liverpool to inside 18 factors of the Premier League title, a win that, no less than briefly, put them 16 factors clear on the high of the desk and ever nearer to a twentieth league title that, no less than collectively, will put us again the place we belong.
Now we head into one other biblical week with the return sport towards Paris Saint-Germain and a visit to Wembley for the League Cup closing to come back.
It’s a week the place Nunez may simply as simply watch on from the sidelines in a completely inactive position as he may make a hero of himself.
Strap yourselves in.
