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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Darwin Nunez must address familiar Roberto Firmino problem as Liverpool frustration clear

Depending on your point of view, the recent successive Premier League postponements have either given Liverpool much-needed extra time on the training ground or denied an opportunity to show a continued response to their indifferent start to the season.

For Darwin Nunez, though, there is no doubt the blank weekends have been a source of intense frustration.

And it's in keeping with the embryonic Anfield career of the player Jurgen Klopp rubber-stamped as potentially becoming the most expensive player in the club's history when a £86million deal was struck with Benfica back in June.

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Since then, Nunez's efforts to build on his instant impact of goals against Manchester City in the Community Shield and the Premier League opener at Fulham have been hampered by a variety of reasons. If the three-match ban following his needless red card against Crystal Palace on his home debut was self-inflicted, the remainder have been somewhat out of the Uruguayan's control.

It hasn't helped that Nunez has yet to fully enjoy the Anfield experience, his only other home outing being a second-half run-out from the bench against Ajax in the Champions League last week. Nunez has yet to tally a combined 90 minutes on his new stomping ground.

Indeed, arguably the striker's most memorable positive home contribution to date came in the form of his boisterous celebration following Fabio Carvalho's late winner against Newcastle United last month that at least demonstrated, when it comes to passion for the club, there are no concerns.

The slow start to life at Liverpool for Nunez is in stark contrast to so many of the main big-money forwards who have featured during the Klopp era.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane both scored on their debuts, Diogo Jota netted on his Premier League bow while Luis Diaz's ability to hit the ground running in January was integral in helping Liverpool compete on all four fronts last season.

Instead, the player with which Nunez's early Anfield experience is more closely matched is the one he has arguably been brought in to replace - Roberto Firmino.

There is good reason for that. Salah, while being signed from Roma after a spell in Italy, had Premier League experience during his time at Chelsea, despite it being largely disappointing. Mane spent several years at Southampton before switching to Liverpool, while Jota even had a season in the Championship before a further two in the top flight with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Firmino, although accustomed to playing in Europe with Hoffenheim, had none of that. Nor did he speak English, unlike the aforementioned trio. Under Brendan Rodgers, he initially struggled to find an effective position and, like Nunez, was also set back by an early absence, albeit through injury rather than suspension.

Diaz is, of course, the outlier, similar to Nunez in arriving from Portugal without Premier League experience and little to no command of the native language. But a key difference is he was bought to augment a winning team, rather than be the person around which a new-look attack would be built.

Inevitable comparisons between Nunez and Erling Haaland at Manchester City, the Premier League's other big-money striker arrival during the summer, are also spurious. Haaland may not have played in England, but his father did and there were never going to be any of the teething troubles the Liverpool man is experiencing.

It wasn't until Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager a few months into Firmino's Reds career that the Brazilian began to truly acclimatise, although it's worth remembering that in his first season his starts as the main centre forward were limited. Nevertheless, 11 goals and 11 assists provided a hint of what was to come.

Nunez will at least gain much-needed further minutes with Uruguay playing their final World Cup warm-up matches against Iran in Austria on Friday and Canada in Slovakia next Tuesday.

Like Firmino, the striker has found matters largely transpiring against him early in his Liverpool career. But the Reds will hope Nunez ultimately follows the same path as their famed number nine. His fellow South American has shown it can be done.

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