Gary Lineker is backing Darwin Nunez to hit the goal trail for Liverpool after admitting that the forward ‘fascinates’ him.
The Uruguayan was in the thick of the action for Jurgen Klopp’s side on Wednesday evening as visitors Chelsea were swept aside 4-1 at Anfield, keeping the title tilt very much on track. Nunez provided the assist for Luis Diaz to sweep home the fourth goal of the evening, but it was his other contributions that became a talking point.
Nunez became the first player in a Premier League game to hit the woodwork four times in a 90-minute match, which included a penalty kick shortly before half-time that crashed back off the post. Despite making four substitutions at 3-0 up, Klopp elected to keep his front man on the pitch in search of a goal for himself, but it was not to be.
Nunez has scored seven Premier League goals so far this season, lagging behind teammates Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota, but despite receiving criticism from some quarters for the number of chances that he passes up, Lineker is convinced that the all-action forward will start putting the ball in the back of the net routinely sooner rather than later.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, the former England international said: “One player who fascinates me at Liverpool is Darwin Nunez, as a former striker.
“Yes, he is missing a lot of chances but he gets in positions to miss those chances as much as anyone in the league and I just have a sense that it will come right for him.
“I think there’s something in Nunez. Us strikers, there are times in the game where you do miss, but the key is to not shy away from getting in there again and he did that.
“Even with the penalty kick, even though he missed it, he was prepared to stand up because he knows it’s a chance to score so therefore it will turn.
“He may or may not be the greatest natural finisher that we’ve seen but his movement is exceptional, he’s incredibly quick and he gets a lot of chances. Goalscorers will tell you, if you get a lot of chances, eventually, if you’re any good, you will score goals.”
Speaking on the same podcast back in September, following Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Newcastle United, Lineker made the same point about Nunez, saying: “For me, the most important thing about goal scorers and the ones that are more natural are the ones that get a lot of chances.
“He seems to get himself into the position to miss if you like and to be a really good goal scorer, you will inevitably miss chances.
“Obviously, last season, the percentage rates of his finishing wouldn’t have been as he liked. There’s definitely a massive goal scorer in there!”
Nunez has scored 11 goals in all competitions for Liverpool this season and has also provided 11 assists, the second most of any Premier League player behind Bukayo Saka. Before joining the Reds in 2022, the Uruguayan scored 26 goals in 28 Primeira Liga matches for Benfica during the 2021/22 season.
