When Liverpool spent an initial £64m to bring in Darwin Nunez from Benfica last summer, it was seen as a step in a new direction for the Reds. Having waved off Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, and with Roberto Firmino no longer a guaranteed starter, Jurgen Klopp had seemingly opted for a traditional number nine as he reinvented his side’s attack.
The Uruguayan would start his Liverpool career down the middle and showed glimpses of his talent in a rollercoaster start to the campaign. While outsiders would take great glee in some of the 23-year-old’s erratic finishing, at the time there was no suggestion that a positional switch would be on the cards.
Yet long-term injuries suffered by Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota in quick-succession in October forced a re-think at Anfield. Klopp would try out a number of different formations as the Reds looked to power through without a natural left-sided forward.
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But embarrassing defeats to struggling Nottingham Forest and Leeds United would prompt a further change as Nunez, having briefly played on the left for Benfica, was turned to in such a role. At the time such a decision was made out of desperation and necessity, with the likes of Curtis Jones and Fabio Carvalho not delivering on the flank and with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino the only other available senior forwards.
The Uruguayan played just five times on the left for the Portuguese outfit according to Transfermarkt, yet the returns spoke for themselves. He returned a staggering 10 goals and an assist as he scored in every appearance he made in such a role.
This included a first-half hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of Belenenses SAD, another treble in a 4-1 win over FC Famalicao and a brace in a 7-1 victory over Maritimo in three successive appearances on the left during a goal-laden run in November and December 2021. He'd return to the role twice more during the season, in late January against FC Arouca and early April against SC Braga, scoring penalties in both as Benfica won 2-0 and lost 3-2.
Given such a record, it made sense for Klopp to turn to the forward in the absence of Diaz and Jota. It would only be a short-term switch after all, courtesy of a mid-season World Cup with the pair due back in early 2023.
And it would pay off Liverpool as Nunez, having scored from the flank against Ajax in late-October, returned an assist in the 2-1 away victory over Tottenham Hotspur before netting a brace in the Reds’ 3-1 win against Southampton in their final outing before the World Cup.
Experiment over with a successful conclusion, Liverpool’s stop-gap winger was poised to return to a central role when club football restarted. But then Diaz was forced to undergo knee surgery in December and the Reds signed Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in January.
Eyebrows were raised at the Dutchman’s arrival, truth be told. Signed for an initial £37m, he was predominantly an inverted left-winger and while Diaz and Jota remained sidelined, the need for such a player over a new midfielder, for example, was debatable.
But when Firmino then suffered an injury in Liverpool’s mid-season training camp, the need for a new forward in the short-term at least made some sense. After all, with Jota and Diaz not expected back until February and March respectively, Gakpo’s arrival at least gave Klopp a new natural left-sided forward with Nunez free to return to the centre.
This is how the pair lined up initially for the Dutchman’s debut against Wolves in the FA Cup, as Nunez scored in a 2-2 draw. But then the Uruguayan suffered an injury which saw him miss both the 3-0 loss away at Brighton and FA Cup replay win over Wolves.
In his absence, Gakpo would be fielded centrally, admittedly with limited success, with Nunez then brought on as a substitute on the left when he did return against both Chelsea and Brighton. Supporters and critics alike were left questioning the wisdom in such a decision as they were left scrutinising why Klopp would play a £64m striker as a winger and a £37m winger upfront.
They would both return to their ‘favoured’ roles for Liverpool’s next game as Nunez returned to the starting XI for the Premier League trip to Wolves. Yet an embarrassing 3-0 defeat demonstrated how all was not well at Anfield as the Reds’ woes continued.
That loss marks the last time Nunez played upfront and the last time Gakpo played on the left. Since then, Klopp has made an absolute mockery of those doubting his utilisation of both players.
Since that 3-0 loss at Molineux, Liverpool are unbeaten in their last five Premier League matches with both Nunez and Gakpo thriving in their new roles. And even in their 5-2 loss to Real Madrid, the former would still score.
The Uruguayan would set up Salah’s opener before the Dutchman opened his account for the club in their 2-0 victory over Everton, before both players scored in their 2-0 victory over Newcastle United. And although they’d each sit out the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace and 2-0 victory over Wolves, they returned to their new roles to devastating effect in the Reds’ 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United as both players netted braces.
Nunez now boasts 14 goals and four assists for Liverpool from 31 appearances. Remarkably, half of that tally (seven goals and two assists) has come from just 11 games, as a left-winger compared to his 20 games as a striker. That return is even more impressive when you consider all his goals and assists from the flank have come across eight starts.
If we include his prolific run for Benfica, as well as a goal on his only start on the left for Uruguayan side Penarol, the 23-year-old boasts a whopping 18 goals and three assists from just 17 games on the left with 13 of those outings coming from the start.
Meanwhile, all four of Gakpo's goals for Liverpool have come from his six Premier League starts upfront. Spread across three league games, they are the only three he has started alongside Nunez in the English top-flight with both in their new roles.
When named alongside Salah, Klopp has selected the front three in such a set-up just four times. Across those four games, they boast four goals each, with the Egyptian registering four assists and Nunez also setting up one goal.
With Jota and Firmino back available, and both contributing to goals in the past week, and Diaz set to return later this month, Liverpool’s attacking options are looking stronger than ever. And while Nunez might have been a £64m striker and Gakpo a £37m winger when signed, Klopp’s decision to reinvent both players rather than the Reds’ set-up has proven to be inspired.
Be it a change stumbled upon by accident or a stroke of genius from the German, he has proven he knew best when ignoring outside scoffing. And while once nothing more than a stop-gap solution on the left, Nunez now continues to prove himself to be anything but.
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