LIVERPOOL, England — As Darwin Núñez walked toward the Anfield touchline on Saturday afternoon, he was serenaded by the sound of nearly 60,000 jubilant fans singing his name.
The Uruguay international forward had played 68 minutes of Liverpool’s 3-1 comeback win over Southampton, scoring the equaliser and winning a penalty that was coolly converted by Mohamed Salah to help send Arne Slot’s side — temporarily, at least — 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
“He had one or two games that were not perfect, that also had to do with him missing that chance against [Aston] Villa,” Slot said of his mercurial No.9 ahead of the match. “But sometimes, these things happen and now he is back to being the normal Darwin.”
As well as his positive contributions against Southampton, Núñez spurned a number of half-chances and almost saw himself dismissed for a needless swipe at Kyle Walker-Peters late in the first half. The normal Darwin, indeed. It was the kind of display that demonstrated both why he’s still revered in some quarters of the Liverpool fanbase, and also why his Anfield career is surely destined to come to an end this summer.
Hot-headed, inconsistent and unpredictable, Núñez lacks the clinical edge and cool temperament required to star for a team striving to challenge at home and abroad for years to come. But should Liverpool end this season with silverware, it would be hard to argue that the 25-year-old hasn’t played his part.
It was his match-winning brace off the bench at Brentford back in January that injected crucial momentum into Liverpool’s title charge at a time when rivals were faltering. It was he who showed the required composure to tee up Harvey Elliott in the smash-and-grab victory over Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. And on an afternoon when Liverpool toiled and creaked against the Premier League’s lowest-ranked side, Núñez persisted and made himself the hero.
Admittedly, Liverpool made hard work of what was, on paper, their easiest remaining assignment in the top flight this term. In his prematch news conference, Slot had described the visit of Southampton as “the first of three finals” his team would contest over the next week, with the second leg of Liverpool’s Champions League round-of-16 tie with PSG to come on Tuesday before next weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
Supporters could be forgiven for thinking Slot was overstating the scale of the challenge facing his team, given that Southampton had amassed just nine points from 27 league games ahead of their trip to Merseyside. But his words proved prophetic as Southampton grew into a cagey first half at Anfield, taking the lead on the stroke of half-time when Will Smallbone capitalised on an almighty mix-up between Alisson Becker and captain Virgil van Dijk to sidefoot the ball into an empty net.
For much of the first half, it had all the hallmarks of being “one of those days” for Liverpool, with Curtis Jones drilling one effort agonisingly wide of the post before Aaron Ramsdale smothered Trent Alexander-Arnold’s goal-bound shot. In spite of Slot’s prematch plea to the fans to generate a memorable atmosphere, there was audible frustration inside the stadium as Liverpool tried and failed to put Southampton to the sword.
The Reds’ disjointed display was perhaps best encapsulated by the sight of Slot — watching from the stands as he continued to serve his two-match touchline ban — burying his head in the hands as Luis Díaz ballooned one effort way over the bar.
Things went from bad to worse when Van Dijk tried to shepherd what looked to be a fairly innocuous ball into the arms of Alisson. But a rare miscommunication between the pair opened the door for Smallbone to slot the ball home in front of the Kop, stunning Anfield into silence.
Perhaps sharing in the supporters’ ire, Núñez — making his first league start since Boxing Day — then petulantly chopped down full-back Walker-Peters, requiring Salah to haul him away from the incident while the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) assessed whether his yellow card should be upgraded to a red.
Fortunately for him and for Liverpool, it was deemed that no further punishment was required, but it was still a surprise to see him emerge for the second half. Slot was quickly vindicated, though, for his decision to persevere, as the striker was on hand to poke the ball past Ramsdale following a fine run down the left from Díaz just six minutes after the interval.
Only three minutes later, Liverpool were ahead through a clinical Salah penalty, with Núñez having gone down under the clumsy challenge of Smallbone inside the area. The strike saw Salah move up to third on the club’s list of all-time goal scorers, with only Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285) having scored more goals for Liverpool in the club’s history.
Salah added further gloss to what is turning out to be a remarkable individual campaign when he converted another penalty — awarded by VAR after a handball by Yukinari Sugawara — just two minutes from time. It takes the Egypt international’s league tally up to 27 goals for the season and moves him level with Sergio Aguero as the joint-fifth-highest scorer in Premier League history, with 184 goals.
Still, the afternoon belonged to Núñez, and Slot was quick to praise his centre-forward after the match.
“That’s also the life of a No.9,” the Dutchman said. “You go from missing a chance to scoring an important goal to all of a sudden missing a chance again. I think today, especially in the second half, you saw the work-rate he can bring.”
It is that work-rate that, almost three years into Núñez’s time at Liverpool, continues to compel fans to root for him. Ultimately, for a player whose transfer fee could yet rise to a club-record £85 million, the striker has failed to truly hit the heights at Anfield, and a fresh start this summer appears to be in the best interests of all parties.
Núñez was one of the last players to head down the tunnel after Saturday’s game as he took in the applause from an exultant Kop. His Liverpool career may have an expiration date, but until that day comes, fans will continue to sing his name.
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