Darwin Nunez might not have scored against Chelsea on Wednesday night, but his performance in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory was one to remember.
The Uruguayan would superbly set up Luis Diaz’s strike late on to clinch the win as Jurgen Klopp’s men re-established their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. His 11th assist of the season, the 24-year-old now has 22 goal contributions from 34 matches so far this campaign.
However, he should have added to his own goal count against the Londoners in what proved to be another chaotic outing for Liverpool’s agent of chaos. He would finish the match having taken a whopping 11 shots, and remarkably hit the woodwork four times – such a total is a Premier League record for a player in a single game since Opta records began.
One of those misses came from the penalty spot as Nunez sent goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic the wrong way from 12 yards, only to see his strike cannon back off the post.
A menace from start to finish despite not getting his name on the scoresheet, his eye-catching display is even more impressive if you consider the fact that he was playing injured for the majority of the match.
Klopp would confirm at his latest pre-match press conference that the striker is a doubt to face Arsenal on Sunday because of a foot injury, after being stood on in the 20th minute against Chelsea. Left with a swollen foot, he left Anfield in a protective boot and, besides being in considerable pain, is currently unable to fit back into his football boots.
“I don’t know if Darwin will be available or not because after 20 minutes, someone stepped on his foot,” the German revealed. “Very painful after the game.
“He only took the boot the game off after the game because he didn’t want to see it before. He knew there was something.
“He left the stadium in a boot and it was not a football boot. Nothing broken, x-ray clear but swollen. We have to see if he can get his foot back in a football boot or not. That takes time. I didn’t see him this morning so we have to wait a little bit.”
You would assume that Liverpool would take no risks with Nunez if he is still feeling the effects when they travel to the Emirates. While Mohamed Salah is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, the Reds can still put together a front three of Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo, and Luis Diaz, with the likes of Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai offering alternatives.
But if the striker is wanting to play through the pain, he doesn’t have to look too far for an example to follow. After all, the Uruguayan’s compatriot Luis Suarez amusingly wore Steven Gerrard’s boots when suffering with a similar injury during his own playing days with Liverpool, such was his determination to play.
Both Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling have previously shared the story, with it being an incident that clearly still sticks with both players over 10 years on.
