Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez has revealed some advice from Jürgen Klopp that could make the Reds the most fearsome team in the Premier League in one area.
Of all the teams in the Premier League, only Tottenham Hotspur (15) has had more shots from counter-attacks than Liverpool (14) this season.
And when you look at it on a per-game basis — the Reds have played a game fewer than Spurs — it leads the division outright.
But when it comes to goals from counters, Liverpool is only in mid-table (joint-eighth). It has converted just two of those 14 attempts, leaving it well behind first-place Manchester United (six) and second-place Manchester City (four).
The explanation for Liverpool’s high volume of shots, and low volume of goals, is the same — Darwin Núñez.
On a per 90 basis, no player in the Premier League is averaging more fast breaks — an attempt that results from a team winning the ball in its own half and launching a quick attack — than the 23-year-old (0.6, via Sky Sports).
Manchester United’s Anthony Martial is his nearest challenger on 0.59, with Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah further back in third on 0.46.
Núñez’s potency in these situations comes down to two things. The first is his pace, with the Uruguayan ranking third in the league for highest top speed this season at 36.53 km/h, only behind Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk (36.63 km/h) and Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon (36.61 km/h).
And the second is his willingness to dart into space in behind defenses when Liverpool has turned the ball over, offering an outlet.
“Klopp knows my strength is my speed, running into space,” Núñez said himself in an interview with Sky Sports.
The former Benfica man has the potential to be the ultimate counter-attacking weapon, but for that potential to be realized, he must be more clinical. Indeed, the same could be said for his Liverpool career more generally.
Núñez recognizes that he must ‘work on’ his finishing and says Klopp has urged him to take his time when he’s in front of goal.
“He has told me that I have to be calm in games when it comes to finishing,” he explained. “He wants me to take a second longer, because if I shoot with anger, or I rush it, then it will always go badly. He asks me to take an extra second, with calmness, and I will score.”
There’s an important balance to be struck here, because Klopp must be careful not to dilute one of Núñez’s biggest strengths.
Darwin Núñez of Liverpool (Image: Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Somewhat remarkably, all 10 of his goals for the Reds so far have been one-touch finishes. He’s seemed to thrive on instinct more than anything else.
There have been multiple occasions when, after running through on goal, Núñez has seemingly been guilty of overthinking and fluffed his finish. In that sense, Klopp’s advice might seem a little strange.
But the reality is, only a portion of his opportunities will lend themselves to first-time strikes. He must be comfortable in a variety of scenarios if he’s to hit elite numbers at Anfield, and so maybe Klopp’s biggest task is to instill the composure that he’s sorely lacked so far.
All of this only adds to the sense that Núñez is ready to explode at Liverpool when he adds that final, elusive agreement — calmness.
In doing so, he can help make the Reds the most fearsome counter-attacking force in the Premier League, and one of the best in Europe too.
