Darwin Nunez bagged a fantastic brace as Liverpool earned a deserved 4-0 victory over Bournemouth on Sunday evening.
After a cagey first half, Nunez burst into life and broke the scoring for the Reds soon after the restart, slotting home with aplomb to finish off a wonderful team goal.
He would then play his part in both of Diogo Jota’s strikes, acting as a nuisance to Bournemouth defenders before bagging his second in stoppage time – latching onto Joe Gomez’s cross to stab home.
The Uruguayan’s goals bookended a superb display from the Reds which sees them go five points clear at the top of the table.
One of his best performances of the campaign so far, it comes in a season where once again, Nunez’s goalscoring abilities have often been the topic of discussion.
Does he miss absolute sitters a bit too often? Yes, probably.
However, there is no denying that his presence in the team leads to goals. And the stats support it.
Nunez has become the first Premier League player to register at least 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions this season.
His constant involvement in the attacking phases of play gives Liverpool that extra edge going forward – and while he doesn’t put away everything that’s presented to him, he more often than not makes up for his errors with other contributions throughout the game.
He’s an asset like no other – and when he’s not in the team, it’s felt more than anything. That element of chaos adds so much to the front line, preventing it from becoming predictable for opponents.
There’s a reason that Jurgen Klopp rarely fails to name him in his starting XIs.
