Darwin impresses as Jurgen Klopp’s side show signs of evolution NewsNow
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Darwin impresses as Jurgen Klopp’s side show signs of evolution

Darwin impresses as Jurgen Klopp’s side show signs of evolution

Many eyebrows were raised during the summer transfer window as Liverpool allowed star forward Sadio Mane to depart for Bayern Munich without a ready-made replacement lined up to replace him.

With Erling Haaland already having sealed a move to Manchester City and Robert Lewandowski flirting with Spanish giants Barcelona, many Reds anxiously waited to see just how Jurgen Klopp would replace the output in goals and assists that Mane brought to the side.

The Senegalese international offered pace, power, work ethic and flexibility to the Liverpool attack which could not be replaced easily.

Klopp’s emphatic solution to this Mane-shaped hole left in his side may have taken world football by surprise. Liverpool moved quickly to wrap up a deal for Uruguayan striker, Darwin Nunez, from Benfica.

In a transfer with a fee of 75 million euros, Liverpool had their man very early in the transfer window meaning he would have the entire pre-season to settle in.

Nunez will be a familiar face to Liverpool fans as he caused a multitude of issues for the high line employed by Klopp’s defence in last season’s Champions League for Benfica.

Always playing on the last man and looking to get in behind, Nunez gave fans a taste of what to expect and no doubt Klopp and his coaching staff will have taken note of such a dominant display.

Not many forwards cause Virgil van Dijk and Ibou Konate as many problems as the young striker did over the course of the two-legged tie.

Having played against Nunez so recently, there has never seemed to be any concerns about the ability he possesses from within the club. All the noise has been from social media and rival fans wanting to stir the pot.

While Nunez reported for pre-season training on day 1, there is still a lot of settling in to do. Players such as Thiago Alcantara and Luis Diaz have been important to helping that settling-in period as Thiago was spotted translating between Klopp and his new signing.

Any negativity or question marks during pre-season were pushed to one side on Saturday as the first semi-competitive game of the season was contested between Manchester City and Liverpool.

The Community Shield was the first opportunity for Darwin to impress his new fanbase in a more intense scenario. While he had to wait for his chance, Nunez took to the field with 30 minutes remaining as he replaced Roberto Firmino with the game level at 1-1.

Having Firmino run the City back line ragged from the first hour of the game may have been a genius move from the Liverpool boss as the Brazilian plays the game in a completely different way to the new man.

Over the course of the game, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake were getting used to Firmino dropping into his own midfield to get on the ball and link play to create space for Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz on the wings.

The positions Firmino would find himself in would cause more problems for Rodri in the holding midfield position rather than the centre-halves.

As soon as the substitution was made, the dynamic of the game changed as Liverpool adapted their play style to be a lot more direct as this suits the movement and playing style of Nunez.

Almost instantly, the big forward found himself behind Dias and Ake. Despite appearing to be offside in the end, this was an early warning for Pep Guardiola’s side.

With the Spanish manager always looking to attack and be on the front foot, this allowed Nunez to find space in a very intelligent way as he was always looking to position himself either directly behind a centre-back or make diagonal movements into the channels between full-back and centre-back.

With the game being in the balance and players tiring, more and more space appeared for Liverpool when counter-attacking or when they were able to press high up the pitch to win the ball back.

Nunez showed that he is willing to work hard for the team as he won the ball back high up the pitch on a couple of occasions, being unfairly penalised on one occasion and creating a chance for himself on the other.

Beating Nathan Ake to a loose ball, Nunez then used his pace and movement to burst into the space left in the defence by the Dutch centre-back.

With captain Jordan Henderson picking out the run of Nunez, Ederson got out of his goal quickly and did well to smother the shot.

Nunez appeared to grow in confidence throughout the game as he ghosted past both Cancelo and Rodri at one point before drawing a foul in a dangerous area.

He also played a nice ball to Salah on the right side before darting into the box to be found by the winger and head against the arm of Ruben Dias.

Of course, Salah stepped up to the resulting penalty and put his side 2-1 ahead. A key factor to winning this penalty was the movement to get in behind his man so that he could not be seen as Dias is focused on the ball.

Nunez topped off an impressive cameo as he remained patient and found space in the penalty area once again after Fabio Carvalho won the ball back high up the pitch and found Salah, who played a wonderful cross to Andy Robertson at the back post.

Being more switched on than the opposition, Nunez made Robertson’s job very easy as he simply headed down to the six-yard box and the chance was headered home in clinical fashion by Liverpool’s new goal scorer.

Despite being a relatively short cameo at the King Power Stadium, it was a game-changing one. Being brought on at 1-1 and helping his side to a 3-1 win over their rivals, Nunez displayed how he can evolve this Liverpool side as he is a more direct player than his alternative, Firmino.

This direct approach will create space for others in an alternative way to the Brazil international as he will occupy centre-backs and move in behind full-backs to free up Salah and Diaz in different positions.

This is an exciting time for Liverpool fans as Jurgen Klopp looks to evolve his team once again and deliver success this season.

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