‘I’m not the worst’ – but is Nunez too wasteful for Liverpool?

“I wasn’t the best three weeks ago, and I’m not the worst now”.

In Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa, Liverpool missed the chance to win the Premier League title by 10 points. That is how Darwin Nunez framed his disappointment.

The Uruguay striker’s habit of wasting space in front of goal, which he had been avoiding for an initial £64 million deal since joining in 2022, was once more exposed when he fired over from six yards with the target gaping at Villa Park.

It is only one month, though, since Nunez produced stoppage-time heroics with a late double to clinch a 2-0 win at Brentford and strengthen the Reds ‘ grip in top spot.

However, former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler described his miss as “one of the worst we’ve seen this year” on TNT Sports with an expected goals value (xG) of 0.75, which would mean he would be expected to score 75% of the time in that scenario.

For Slot, however, this was less about Nunez’s miss and much more about the impact it had on the player.

“I can accept every miss, especially from a player that scored two very important goals against Brentford”, he said on Thursday.

After that chance, I found his behavior to be a little more difficult to accept. He wasn’t the typical Darwin who works his ass off and aids the team, in my opinion, and it got too much in his head. I think he was too disappointed”.

It all means Arsenal can cut Liverpool’s lead to five points when they host West Ham on Saturday.

On Thursday, Nunez posted on social media: “If I fall, I get up. You’ll never see me give up. I’m going to give it my all until the last day I’m here in Liverpool. Resilience”!

Do the figures suggest that the Uruguay international will continue to play a crucial role for Liverpool going forward?

Nunez, who joined from Portuguese side Benfica on a six-year deal after being heavily linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League in January, is currently playing for his third full season at Anfield.

Nunez was signed by Liverpool after a superb 2021-22 campaign, during which he made 34 goals in 41 games for Benfica, including against the Reds in both matches of their Champions League quarter-final.

The 25-year-old’s career has been the only season the striker has outperformed his xG in league competition, so that is an anomaly.

In a number of crucial areas, Nunez is outside the top 20 in terms of his performance in comparison to other Premier League strikers this season.

His shot conversion rate of 15.4% ranks tied 22nd and he is 24th for minutes per goal (223), while 30 players have bettered his xG performance (0.0) following Wednesday’s miss.

Fara Williams, a columnist for BBC Sport, analyzes this analysis.

Darwin Nunez is a frustrating player.

Due to the work-rate he gives, he quickly became a favorite of the fans when he arrived.

But, on the flip side, his composure in front of goal has never been good. It is what you are evaluated on when you play in a large club. Is he capable enough to join a Liverpool side that is in a league one matchup? Probably not.

It was a huge miss when it showed up against Aston Villa. At a team like Liverpool, you are expected to finish that.

Nunez does not have that composure. His mind is moving a hundred miles per hour, and that is what transpired. At the end of the season, that error might cost you.

Ray: Nunez is a big disappointment. Although his stats indicated that Liverpool wasn’t good enough, they still purchased him. He lacks the mental clarity required to play at this level, which he lacks. He makes great efforts, but it is insufficient. At the conclusion of the season, he’ll leave.

Ryan: Really, really tired of Nunez now. Not just based on Villa. Yes, he ‘ works hard’, but he’s playing for Liverpool in the Premier League. That shouldn’t be a brag, it’s mandatory. He has had a lot of opportunities to waste, and he has been the star of his own list. This summer, he needs to be offloaded and replaced.

Liam, I have no idea why playing Darwin Nunez is so persistent and logic-filled. One of the worst mistakes I’ve seen all season is tonight’s miss, and nothing so far doesn’t suggest that he has the ability to play for a premier league club.

Pete: Trying to make sense of the Nunez agenda on here. The story is Nunez, but Diago Jota and Marcus Rashford both missed a perfect sitter.