As celebrations go, Darwin Nunez's standing salute to the Liverpool fans in the away end at Craven Cottage said it all.
The Reds' shiny new £64m striker had only been on the pitch 15 minutes when he opened his Premier League account with an impudent back-heeled finish to level the score.
As the supporters housed in the far corner of the ground broke into a simple chant of 'Nunez! Nunez!' it looked as though the Uruguayan's introduction had done the trick. After 50 minutes of Roberto Firmino meandering through proceedings in west London, Liverpool suddenly had a presence up top; one that had Fulham's backline on the ropes.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp is about to fully unleash a new devastating partnership at Liverpool
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp faces Liverpool midfield problem as forward change obvious
Moments earlier, Nunez's sheer physicality almost saw him level things up before an intervention near the goalline from Tim Ream. Another clever run and snap-shot across the face had goalkeeper Marek Rodak sprawling too.
An assist was later claimed for Mohamed Salah to make it 2-2 as he cushioned a ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold into the path of his strike partner. It was a moment that summed up where Nunez is at right now. The deft touch was accompanied by a clumsy slip, but it still had the desired effect as Salah dispatched to restore parity.
The term 'handful' is an apt one for Nunez and it is obvious that there are loose touches to tighten up and rough edges to smooth. It may not always be easy on the eye, but having just turned 23, his raw potential is very obvious. Jurgen Klopp will surely relish working with him these coming years.
It was an all-action display from the new Liverpool man that will have given Klopp plenty of food for thought as he ponders a return to winning ways at home to Crystal Palace on August 15.
“They are completely different players," Klopp said when asked if Brazil international Firmino had been giving tips to his new colleague this summer on Friday. "They like each other and talk a lot. They are both from South America, like each other a lot, both offensive players, can play different positions – what can they learn?
"Before I arrived people probably thought Bobby was not the player he is. He is an exceptional player, he has his absolute own way of playing football. Imagine Bobby would try to play like Darwin or the other way around, a bit strange and not necessary. As a person, yes, but as a player I'm not sure [there is anything to teach]."
Klopp is right in that sense. Firmino's particular brand of centre-forward play is in stark contrast to that of his new team-mate's. Whereas the Brazilian picks the lock with subtlety, Nunez prefers the battering ram to break down the door. It's most certainly a styles clash, but it seems as though the manager is going to take a horses for courses approach for now.
It does, at least, mean he has two very different types of centre-forwards to choose from at either end of the stylistic scale while Diogo Jota - a player who can perhaps be neatly slotted into the middle that particular striker spectrum - continues to convalesce from his hamstring injury.
"We don’t want to change Darwin in a week or two or three," Klopp told a handful of reporters at the AXA Centre on the eve of his side's flight out to Thailand last month. "Do I want that Darwin to play like Bobby Firmino in the same position? No, not at all. It makes no sense. We are talking about a false nine and a nine. That is the difference."
Nunez's intervention at Fulham, then, neatly sums up the approach. When Firmino drops below his usual standards, there is a genuine Plan B in the former Benfica star. At some point this season the roles will be reversed too. Firmino's talents will be called upon when Nunez is enduring a day to forget, no doubt.
For now, though, the 23-year-old has surely done enough to warrant inclusion from the start when Palace visit Anfield a week from now. His goalscoring appearances from the bench in both the Community Shield against Manchester City and at Craven Cottage mean he is averaging a goal every 35 minutes.
Throw in his exploits across pre-season, when he registered four against RB Leipzig, and Nunez's goals-per-minute ratio moves up to 36 minutes. It's early days and there are elements to work on, but the former Penarol youngster knows where the back of the net is.
The tactical tweaks that will need to be made to extract the most from Nunez have already been spoken about by Anfield insiders as they look to move on from the Sadio Mane era of the last six years while integrating a striker who is much more in the mould of an archetypal 'No.9', leading the line.
"I remember the process of signing Sadio," says assistant manager Pep Lijnders. "Watching different players, doing background, watching him on the big screen in our coaches’ room and us all saying yes. But I think in life it is really important that you don’t look to the past. You can speak a lot about what you had but it is much more important what you want. We feel that with our squad, and especially our front players, we are ready to compete.
"The individual player will always influence a team in a certain way. For example, Luis Diaz gives us much more, not more than Sadio, but gives them something to pose on the outside.
"He will dribble and that gives players in the centre something for them to [attack]. So when we play with Bobby, it's much more from the outside. So Luis Diaz gives a different vibe but so does Darwin. We know what we want and where we want to go, it's about time because time creates relationships in football and that's the most important thing that we have real connections with our players and in that time we will give everyone who is new."
It might be some time before the raw and powerful Nunez is completely in sync with Salah and Diaz on the flanks, but until then, he has already demonstrated he can be a force right now.
READ NEXT:
Gary Neville makes big Liverpool admission after Man United defeat to Brighton
Glenn Hoddle sends message to Trent Alexander-Arnold after Liverpool 'error'
What happened to the eight players Liverpool blew £110m on after £75m exit
'I'm aware' - Liverpool sent transfer warning after Leroy Sane links
Roy Keane sends 'good luck' message to Liverpool and rivals after Erling Haaland goals
