As Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland wheeled away in jubilation after scoring in Wednesday night's Premier League title showdown with Arsenal, 200 miles south of the Etihad Stadium Darwin Nunez was confined to a bit-part role as Liverpool ground out a hard-fought 2-1 win at the London Stadium.
Victory against West Ham United, although far from straightforward, did extend the Reds' unbeaten run in the Premier League to five games as they built on consecutive victories over Leeds United and Nottingham Forest with a resolute showing in the capital.
For Haaland, who has spearheaded City's charge for a fifth title in the last six seasons, the Premier League's most recent set of midweek fixtures will live long in the memory after he shattered Mohamed Salah's record for the number of goals in a 38-game season by firing his 33rd effort of a remarkable debut campaign on English shores with a last-gasp strike against the Gunners to apply the gloss to a ruthless 4-1 thrashing.
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For Nunez, however, the same cannot be said for his midweek endeavours after being named on the bench by Jurgen Klopp for the fourth Premier League game in a row. Fresh from his four-goal salvo in the recent victories at Elland Road and Anfield, it was Diogo Jota who was once again preferred to the Uruguayan and continued his partnership with Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah.
Despite missing two gilt-edged opportunities during the first half at the London Stadium shortly after Gakpo had drawn Liverpool level, it was a typical performance from the Portugal international as he won 75 per cent of his tackles and pestered a right flank of Jarrod Bowen and Vladimir Coufal before being replaced by Luis Diaz just before the hour mark.
However, the most indicative moment at the London Stadium occurred when Reds boss Klopp considered his first roll of the dice with the game evenly poised at 1-1 and eventually settled on turning to Diaz and Thiago Alcantara. Nunez would be made to wait a further 20 minutes before his latest of late cameos.
Of course, the competition for places in Liverpool's three-man attack has soared in recent weeks with Diaz making his return from a long-term knee injury, after missing nearly six months of the season, which he initially sustained during the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal in October.
Meanwhile, Gakpo's emergence as the ideal heir to Roberto Firmino's long-standing Anfield throne has restricted Nunez's minutes exclusively to the left-hand side since the turn of the year, with the 23-year-old now embroiled in a three-way battle with team-mates Diaz and Jota for just the one starting berth.
Gakpo's passage up the Anfield pecking order comes after a tricky start to life on Merseyside in the immediate days and weeks after his £37m January move from PSV Eindhoven. But four months later, the Dutchman hasn't looked back since netting his first Premier League goal during the Merseyside derby victory back in February, and his strike against the Hammers took his tally for the Reds to six, with only Salah scoring more (9) during that time.
But most impressively of the former Eindhoven captain has been how smoothly he has adjusted to life as Liverpool's latest false nine innovation. Since January, it's a position he has taken off the hands of the departing Firmino as the final tales of his trophy-laden, eight-year Anfield stay are penned ahead of an emotional summer exit.
For Nunez, though, it begs the question as to where he fits into the building of Klopp's second, great Liverpool dynasty with the forward's arrival, in a £64m deal from Benfica last June, appearing to signal a shift to a more conventional approach led by an out-and-out forward as the German manager developed a blueprint for life without the charismatic Brazilian.
Because, unlike Man City who have flourished since implementing a similar tweak and the 49 goals Haaland has since banked in all competitions, the Reds now look to persist with Gakpo as the focal point of their attack from here on in.
Klopp has already subtly highlighted the teething issues that have limited Nunez to the bench since the stalemate with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the start of April, with Nunez's off-the-ball endeavours not yet at the level required when the side are out of possession and are looking to force turnovers with their trademark, aggressive gegenpress.
Too, his adaptation to life at Anfield has also been hindered by not yet speaking English, something which Klopp highlighted as an issue when providing instructions in-game.
Of course, with an admirable return of 15 goals in 24 starts across all competitions for Liverpool this season, it would be unfair to nitpick the difficulties of what has been a season of transition for both Liverpool and Nunez himself. In fact, such a return, which is more than both Sadio Mane and Firmino managed in their debut campaigns on Merseyside, only further highlights the enormous potential the Uruguay international is blessed with and something Kopities will hope to see over the course of a successful career at Anfield.
But while the Reds will be able to enjoy their late-season revival as they look to sneak Champions League qualification, starting with Sunday's hosting of Tottenham Hotspur, Klopp knows he must plot a long-term strategy to get the best out of Nunez as his team target a return back to the upper echelons of both the English and European game next campaign.
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