Darwin Nunez introduced himself to one Brighton player with a considerable amount of force during the opening minutes of Liverpool’s clash against the Seagulls this afternoon.
The away side had made the brighter start even before they took the lead through Ferdi Kadioglu in the 14th minute, although the Turkey international was left with a close-up view of the Anfield turf a few minutes before his goal.
Nunez has early chance for Liverpool
The Reds’ first meaningful attack was initiated when Trent Alexander-Arnold blasted the ball out of defence, smashing it off one Brighton player before it diverted into the path of the Uruguay striker.
Nunez turned away delightfully from Joel Veltman before then shrugging off the attention of Kadioglu by shouldering the Seagulls wide man to the ground.
Our number 9 surged unchallenged from the halfway line into the visitors’ penalty area and let fly with a shot that Bart Verbruggen did very well to turn behind for a corner, which came to nothing.
Nunez can be so exciting to watch…but he needs to score more!
Every Liverpool fan wants Nunez’s goal tally to be far higher – he had just two in 11 games this season prior to today’s match – but it was a passage of play which showcased just why so many supporters have a soft spot for him.
His physicality proved way too much for Kadioglu to handle – even if the Brighton man got his own back by opening the scoring a few minutes later – and he tore off like a getaway driver in getting himself in a position to test Verbruggen.
Even the manner in which he casually flicked the ball away from Veltman at the start of the move showed how tremendous the Uruguayan can be to watch.
There’s so much to like about Nunez’s game, but he does need to find the net more regularly. With Liverpool trailing 0-1 at the time of writing, today would be an ideal moment to set that right.
You can view Nunez’s shoulder challenge on Kadioglu below, taken from Sky Sport’s match coverage and shared via @Winamino on X:
— @anfieldsociaI (@Winamino) November 2, 2024