7 months ago
101 Andros Townsend has shared what completely baffles him about one Liverpool player who he believes brings so much to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Despite only being denied top spot in the Premier League by goal difference right now, Liverpool are seemingly having to answer some tough questions.
The Reds let Manchester United off the hook in a big way on Sunday. As shown by Whoscored, Jurgen Klopp’s men had 28 shots on goal during the 2-2 draw. But they were unable to put the game to bed before the break.
A number of players missed golden chances.
Andros Townsend baffled by Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez
Darwin Nunez was one of those who proved to be wasteful at Old Trafford. Nunez missed a particularly brilliant chance during the second-half.
The Uruguayan has had plenty of doubters during his time in the Premier League. Some do not believe that Nunez is ever going to be the lethal goalscorer he has the potential to be.
Speaking on The Monday Night Club, Andros Townsend insisted that it is bizarre when you contrast how good Nunez is with how wasteful he can be with easier chances.
“I think Nunez offers them so much. He probably gets them more chances because of his work-rate and his pace in behind, and his pressing off the ball. He is obviously wasteful, he’s young. I know they’ve spent a lot of money on him, but they expect him to get better,” he said.
“But I think he gets them so many chances because of the way he is. He just needs to start converting them on a more regular basis.
“He seems to be one of those players who will miss from five yards and then score from 25 yards. And it just doesn’t make sense.
“He’s also unlucky, he’s also come up against goalkeepers in top form. I remember a couple against Luton that Thomas Kaminski saved against him, similar. But yeah, it doesn’t really show up in the stats sheet, does it?”
One stat places Reds star amongst the worst performers in the Premier League
Nunez has scored 18 goals and contributed 13 assists in all competitions this year. That is a very respectable return for someone who seems to take a fair share of criticism.
However, it does seem that he should be doing a lot better.
According to FBRef, only three players in the Premier League are performing worse against their expected goals tally than Nunez.
| Name | Performance against XG |
| Dominic Calvert-Lewin | -6.1 |
| Nicolas Jackson | -4.4 |
| Julian Alvarez | -3.0 |
| Darwin Nunez | -2.9 |
| Brennan Johnson | -2.8 |
So he should be doing better still. The frustrating thing is Nunez clearly has the talent to be one of the very best strikers in the league. In many ways, he already is.
But when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net, he still has some way to go.
The post 'Just doesn't make sense': Andros Townsend shares what completely baffles him about 24-year-old Liverpool star appeared first on TBR Football.
