What happened to Nunez shows Liverpool striker is making opposition look stupid

Bournemouth fans should have known an awful lot better than to tweak the tail of Liverpool's Darwin Nunez, writes Ian Doyle

What happened to Darwin Nunez shows Liverpool striker is making opposition look stupid

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Bournemouth fans, perhaps more than most, should have known an awful lot better than to tweak the tail of Darwin Nunez.

Midway through a difficult first half for Liverpool, a spurned opportunity from the Reds forward prompted the airing of a derisory chant from the home support that has rarely been heard this season.

Come full-time, though, that suggestions Nunez is merely an inferior version of former Anfield striker Andy Carroll were instead booming out sarcastically from a gleeful away end highlighted how the Uruguayan became a key figure in helping Liverpool move five points clear at the Premier League summit with this eventual romp at Bournemouth.

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Of course, Nunez’s limited command of the English language would indicate he had little idea of what was being sung. Regardless, his second-half showing emphatically rammed the words back down the throat of his detractors.

This was a memorable afternoon for the player, first reaching and then surpassing a career total of 100 for club and country.

His first demonstrated the composure his critics have long called for when calmly finishing first-time with his left foot having been found by Diogo Jota, the Portuguese having only days earlier spoken glowingly of the “trust” Liverpool have in his fellow forward.

But it was Nunez's part in the second goal that demonstrated why he is so beloved of the Anfield faithful and his team-mates. He turned Jota’s speculative punt forward into an opportunity by winning a tenacious tussle with Bournemouth centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi, the loose ball then inviting substitute Cody Gakpo to set up Jota to score.

And Nunez ensured a scoreline that seemed unlikely after a goalless first half when meeting Joe Gomez’s deep cross in injury time with an unorthodox finish.

The 24-year-old had come off the bench to net a memorable League Cup winner back in November, again having silenced the jeers of the Bournemouth supporters after an initial poor first touch before curling home brilliantly.

Nunez, though, has now started six of the last eight Liverpool games and, whether on the left or, as he finished at the Vitality Stadium, playing down the centre, that rhythm of games is making him a continued threat.

Indeed, the Uruguayan now has 10 goals and 10 assists for the campaign and has, at least for now, hushed the doubters that were growing in voice after only one goal in his previous 13 outings.

Those Andy Carroll chants may never truly be put to bed. But Nunez is now making a habit of ensuring they sound more stupid than ever.

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