Darwin Nunez was on everyone’s lips after an ineffective outing in the 3-3 draw at Newcastle, so has patience worn thin for Liverpool’s No. 9?
Liverpool twice had to come from behind against Newcastle and were just moments away from snatching all three points, only for a late error in judgement to see the spoils shared.
Mohamed Salah was at his game-changing best, but the Reds showed vulnerabilities in positions where key players are sidelined and it led to only their third misstep this season.
Here, Joanna Durkan (@JoannaDurkan_) and Nish Veer (@CouchNish) discuss the good and the bad from the frantic draw and if patience is running thin for Darwin Nunez.
The good…
NISH: It was a 6.30am kickoff, which is brilliant for Sydney… however between 6.30am and 7.15am, it was pretty tough watching.
In saying that, once again the way we came back into the game was superb.
Curtis Jones continued his rise in stature while clocking up 150 first-team games, Salah with two goals and an assist, Trent bursting on with an immediate impact…there are certainly some positives to take away.
JOANNA: Those early starts I remember well, but I wouldn’t have been too pleased with being greeted by that first half to begin my day!
As you mentioned Nish, we have a good knack under Slot of turning things around after the break and we looked even better when he made the triple sub.
But Salah was on another level again, he single-handedly dragged us to within moments of an unlikely victory. He was a genius at work, and I may have lost my cool when he got us in front, so apologies to the neighbours!
We’re just five days into December and he has 15 goals and 12 assists across all competitions – it’s unbelievable, he’s showing exactly why he’s worth another bumper contract.
The bad…
JOANNA: Slot didn’t quite get it right with Quansah at right-back. He’s low on confidence as is, and playing him in that role didn’t aid his bid to restore belief.
He was playing safe and positioned back towards the middle of the pitch, not up the line and that massively hindered us. Joe Gomez surely would’ve been the better option there.
Newcastle took advantage of those vulnerabilities and perhaps we were even fortunate to get a point, but Kelleher’s misjudgement pains me to no end. Catch it, punch it – do anything!
Trent didn’t help by letting his man run freely to the ball, mind you.
NISH: It’s fair to say that Nunez’s full game was pretty poor and Kelleher’s result-changing mistake were the real low-lights.
The Quansah at right-back experiment didn’t quite go to plan, as you say Joanna, and there clearly were a lot of tired legs and minds out on the pitch.
Going from the highest of highs of beating Madrid and City to suddenly travelling to a cold and rainy Newcastle to face them was never an easy task, but fair play to them, they really did well against us.
Strangely, I think this result will prepare us better for Goodison. No one is taking anything for granted. We need to fire from the first minute, so bring it on!
And Nunez continues to frustrate, are you running out of patience for him to permanently turn the corner?
NISH: I’ve backed Nunez the entire time, and even his game against Madrid showed a lot of promise. He was aggressive, sharp, battled hard and put them under so much pressure. Sadly, the Nunez against Newcastle is one that we seem more used to in his time as a Red.
He seems to be lacking in so many key areas to be a leading striker for our club. I’m not sure there is a way back for him now unless something miraculous happens and he starts slotting them in for fun.
I miss the Nunez we saw early one. The one who just shot hard at every opportunity with very little thought and lots of instinct. I fear that he’s a square peg being forced into a round hole and no amount of pushing will make it happen.
JOANNA: He’s just incredibly frustrating to watch. I couldn’t believe my eyes when he lashed at that effort and it went nowhere near the goal – you just have to laugh.
Nunez is just far too inconsistent to rely on. He shows glimpses, but that isn’t enough at this level and after all the time he’s spent at the club.
I never want to pile on a player and won’t do so with Nunez, but he’s ineffective far too often and some of his ball use at Newcastle made me want to rip my hair out.
He’ll inevitably have a role to play this season, but he cannot be relied upon.
