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[포포투=김용중]
Liverpool fans were once again frustrated with Darwin Núñez.
Liverpool lost 0-3 in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League (UEL) against Atalanta held at Anfield in Merseyside, England at 4 a.m. on the 12th (Korean time).
Liverpool had a chance to go ahead. In the 14th minute of the first half, Curtis Jones saw Nuñez in midfield and gave him a pass to penetrate the space. This was delivered accurately, and Nuñez found himself in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. However, Nuñez’s shot missed the left side of the goal.
Núñez moved from Portugal’s famous club Benfica to Liverpool last season. He was signed by paying a huge transfer fee of 134.3 billion won, impressed by his incredible scoring ability and quick speed, which resulted in 26 league goals. As his price was high, expectations were also high.
However, in the English Premier League (PL), it is not showing as much destructive power as before. He often scores ‘wonder goals’ in situations where it is difficult to score, which amazes the fans, but on the contrary, he often misses in situations where it is easy to score.
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Even in the second year, after the adaptation period, it is still the same. Although he started on the bench in his first two league games, he scored back-to-back goals in the second half to turn the game around in the third round match against Newcastle United when the team was down 0–1. Although his scoring power seemed to have revived, his erratic decision-making power remained the same.
Liverpool fans are running out of patience. After the game against Atalanta, negative comments poured out on social media, such as “Nuñez is the problem,” “Sell Nuñez!” and “He missed too many chances.”
Liverpool has a lot of concerns about their frontline striker. After Roberto Firmino, there is no clear striker. Although they recruited several players, including Cody Hakpo and Diogo Jota, they are not performing as expected due to poor performance and injuries. Among these, there are also rumors of a transfer to Saudi Arabia for the ‘core of the attack’, Mohamed Salah. In order to show good performance even in the ‘post-Klopp’ era, the problems with the attack must be resolved.
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