View: Darwin Nunez has chance to revive Liverpool career after 83% Copa America showing
Liverpool ace Darwin Nunez was part of the Uruguay team during their 1-0 loss to Colombia in the Copa America semi-final (10 July).
As has been the case for the vast majority of the tournament, Nunez led Marcelo Bielsa’s line as the sole focal point of Uruguay’s attack.
It was a fairly end-to-end match throughout with neither team having the strongest of games.
However, after Jefferson Lerma put Colombia in front after 39 minutes, it felt as if it was in their hands from that point onwards.
Why 2024/25 could be deciding factor for Darwin Nunez at Liverpool
Despite being reprimanded towards the end of the season due to his poor efforts in the final third, Nunez finished last season as the Reds’ second-highest goal scorer.
Since the start of the summer transfer window, there have been murmurs linking the former Benfica man with moves away, but nothing has yet come to fruition.
And, with new manager Arne Slot in charge, it could be the perfect time for Nunez to get back into fans’ good books and perhaps even impress his new coach.
Under Jurgen Klopp he was one of the first names on the teamsheet and was more often than not chosen over the likes of Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo.
Following his solid Copa America campaign, should his form continue, we may see the Uruguay international become one of Slot’s star players.
Despite his flaws, one thing that can’t be taken away from Nunez is his versatility. Klopp deployed the attacker in left-wing on five occasions last term but he was used in a more central role by Bielsa.
As aforementioned, Nunez was used as a number nine against Colombia and despite having a quiet game, he still had a decent impact.
As per Sofascore, he managed to maintain an 83 per cent pass accuracy and also managed to pull out a key pass during the tie.
Despite his strong passing, the 25-year-old put all four of his shots during the game off target and only managed to rack up a total of 0.22 xG.
Looking at Uruguay’s line-up, Nunez was supposed to lead the attacking line but his heatmap from the tie shows he appeared to drift out wide fairly often.
Despite managing to drift wide on occasions, the attacker won 33 per cent of his ground duels and lost 100 per cent of his aerial duels.
Although the game against Colombia was something of a write-off, Nunez’s form throughout the rest of the tournament, whilst inconsistent, showcases how strong of an asset he can be on his day.
In all five of Uruguay’s Copa America games, Nunez was chosen to start and Bielsa’s faith in him pulled off on more than one occasion.
Nunez scored on two occasions and, as per Sofascore, he managed to put a ball in the back of the net every 215 minutes.
Although six big chances were missed throughout the entirety of the tournament, it outlines that the 25-year-old is consistently getting himself into the right situations.
Darwin Nunez shows both sides of his game at Copa America
Nunez made one big chance throughout the tournament and averaged a total of 30.8 touches per game.
In terms of dribbling, 60 per cent were successful, which not only outlines his on-the-ball prowess but also how in tune with his dribbling he can be.
Granted, the statistics don’t make for the best of outlooks on the attacker, but it does showcase that if Slot can manage to bring some consistency into his game, Nunez could be a world-beater.
But should his form fail to pick up, next season may be the last we see of the Uruguayan in a Liverpool shirt.
One thing is for sure: the 2024/25 campaign will be career-defining for the attacker, especially if the Reds manage to bring in someone such as Anthony Gordon this summer [TEAMtalk, 29 June].
In other Liverpool news, the club could be strengthened by the proposed FSG purchase of Bordeaux.
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