Michallik admitted he was disappointed by Darwin Nunez after Liverpool’s win against Newcastle United on Monday night.The match again disappointed Uruguay. Darwin Nunez has scored just one goal in his last 14 games for Liverpool in all competitions. According to WhoScored, Nunez had eight shots on target in the 4-2 win over the Magpies.
It was more than any other player on the field. However, he could not beat Martin Dubravka.
There’s no doubting Nunez’s work rate. When he steps on the field, he gives it his all. Jurgen Klopp has praised Nunez this season. But he knows he wasn’t good enough in front of goal.
According to FBRef, only Dominic Calvert-Lewin has performed worse than expected in the Premier League this season. Speaking to ESPN, Janusz Michallik admitted he now questions whether Nunez can reach the level the Reds need him to. “Very disappointing. Of course, whatever he does, the reaction is immediate because he does so much without the ball.
His work rate increased. It was necessary. Remember he didn’t start because, as Jurgen Klopp said earlier, he couldn’t press immediately. There are many possibilities. He misses many opportunities. But yes, you could say he was successful, at least on the scoring occasions. Sometimes he does that for others. So these are all bonuses,” he said.
The conclusion for me is not technically insufficient, it is real. That’s part of the reason. He is not clean on the ball. I don’t know how much it will change. I never doubted him because it took him a lot to improve under Jurgen Klopp. So I’m still in his corner. But part of me thinks he’ll never be the consistent, ruthless goalscorer a team like Liverpool needs. So I was disappointed.”The Reds now need an £85m star.
No player in the entire division has averaged more shots per 90 minutes this season. So it’s clear that his five-goal return is not enough. The next few weeks could be a good indicator of whether he can prove Michalik wrong.It is clear that Liverpool will have to do without Mohamed Salah on international duty for the next few weeks.
Salah has been exceptional this season. And he tops Liverpool’s scoring charts by some distance. Therefore, players like Nunez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo need to step up. Nunez arrived at Liverpool for £85m and given that he is a centre-forward, the biggest burden may now be on his shoulders.