How Jurgen Klopp can adapt £65M superstar to his system after move to Anfield

How does Darwin Nunez's Liverpool role compare to how he played at Benfica in 2021/22?

First and foremost, understanding Darwin's strengths is key to being able to identify how he will fare in Liverpool's system and why he was so successful last season.

Darwin is an athlete. Strong, fast, powerful stride, the whole nine (no pun intended).

He is similar to Lukaku in that he prefers to run in behind, as opposed to coming in deep to receive the ball, with his back to goal.

Darwin is also adept at linking play in the final third, although he struggles a bit more, trying to do so in deeper phases.

What was Darwin's role at Benfica?

In 2021/22, Benfica primarily set up with 2 formations: the 3-4-3 and the 4-4-2.

Both formations required a slightly different role for Darwin and allowed him to develop more skills, helping him become a more multi-faceted striker.

The 3-4-3

Benfica's most prevalent system last season.

Below, you will find a graphic showing Benfica's 3-4-3 setup with their 'best XI' in this system.

Darwin's role was technically a 'LW', however, the width from the right was provided by Rafa Silva, but on the left, this width was provided by Grimaldo.

Darwin was used more for his movement, in this setup.

Sacrificial threat.

As you can see, as Grimaldo advances, Darwin will occupy a more narrow position, in turn, occupying a full back or centre back, depending on the width of the opposition defence.

This will allow either Grimaldo or Yaremchuk, to remain untracked.

This formation was utilised by Benfica more when they were expected to have territorial dominance in matches (most league games), where the movement of the fullbacks and forwards, would help unlock deeper lying defences.

Similar to a task faced by Liverpool in the majority of their games.

Though Nuñez would be 'the man in the middle' at Liverpool, as opposed to the LW he was at Benfica, in this setup, his movement demonstrates he's more than capable of causing unrest in deep-lying defences, for himself, or his teammates to capitalise on.

I can only see this trait increasing in magnitude as he physically develops, and the quality of the movement and chance creation around him increases at Liverpool.

The 4-4-2

This system was used less frequently by Benfica last season as it was utilised in games where they were the proverbial 'underdogs'; often in the Champions League.

This system focused more on compactness in central areas, and involved a lot of work off the ball for Darwin Nuñez, acting as a connector between the midfield, and Yaremchuk in transition.

This role meant various facets of centre-forward play were needed for Darwin to excel in this system: one-twos with teammates, holding up the ball to allow Rafa Silva to progress, distribution to feed him, and the signature predatory movement to follow the pass and make himself available as an option when Rafa delivers, or to act as a decoy for defenders to follow.

Overall, these two systems that Darwin played a key role in make him absolutely tailor-made to succeed in this Liverpool team.

The 4-4-2 encourages ball security and intelligence of movement in deeper phases, likening him to Bobby Firmino's role in past iterations of this Liverpool team.

On the contrary, Darwin's role in the 3-4-3, pressing from the front, and being decisive; giving defenders things to think about in their own penalty area, likens him to the role Diogo Jota played, for Liverpool last season, and the role of a Liverpool CF going forward, outlined in a previous thread posted on Twitter.

I thank you all for reading, we have seen glimpses of this promise on Saturday against Fulham.

Everyone reading this should be confident for more of the same in the future.