Robbie Fowler blasts Darwin Nunez after ‘criminal’ Liverpool miss v Aston Villa
Robbie Fowler has shown Darwin Nunez no mercy for missing a sitter in the 2-2 draw between Aston Villa and Liverpool on Wednesday.
Aston Villa held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Villa Park on 19 February, with Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring for their respective teams.
While a point at Villa Park is not the worst-case scenario for Arne Slot, the result saw the Reds draw two more points in the title race, allowing Arsenal to reduce the gap to five points if they win their game in hand.
Nunez is partly at fault for that as he failed to find the back of an empty net from seven yards out in the 68th minute of the game, to Slot’s dismay.
| Player (2024-25) | MP | Minutes | G | A | YC | RC |
| Darwin Nunez | 35 | 1710′ | 6 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
Darwin Nunez miss worst of the year – Robbie Fowler
Looking back at the moment that could have seen Liverpool take the lead again, Robbie Fowler said that is the worst miss he has seen this year.
The Liverpool legend argued that Dominik Szoboszlai should have gone for goal himself instead of passing the ball to the Uruguay international, but admitted that missing the target from seven yards out was ‘criminal’.
“It’s a bad miss, it’s a really bad miss, probably up there with one of the worst we’ve seen this year”, Fowler said on TNT Sports (19 February).
“I’ll try and help him out a little bit by saying Szoboszlai maybe should have shot himself, but he’s played a great ball to him and he’s missed the target criminally from seven, eight yards. That can’t be happening.”
Fowler also stressed the need for Nunez to “go back to basics” instead of always trying to do the spectacular as he continues to struggle for confidence at Anfield.
“If you’re struggling for confidence, you’ve got to go back to basics”, the pundit explained.
“You have to get the ball, you have to touch it and you have to give it five yards.
“You don’t look and dally on the ball, waiting for someone to make a run so you can play an unbelievable pass.
“Play the simple things, you always need to go back to basics and do the simplicity of being a footballer and what got you into the position of being a professional footballer.”
"It's a really bad miss, probably up there with one of the worst we've seen this year!"
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 19, 2025
Robbie Fowler reflects on Darwin Nunez's missed opportunity against Aston Villa pic.twitter.com/0n7fO6pPSf
Liverpool prepare for Manchester City
One could be forgiven for suggesting that Liverpool are running out of steam as they have picked up only one win in their last three Premier League games.
Everton and Aston Villa have taken two points each off Slot’s side in the last week, while their 2-1 win against Wolves at Anfield on 16 February was not convincing enough.
The Merseyside-based club also succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Plymouth in the FA Cup on 9 February.
Arsenal will be hoping that the Reds’ rut continues as they look to claw their way to the top of the table, but Slot and Co will be determined to return to winning ways when they visit Manchester City on Sunday, 23 February.