Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez labelled ‘so odd’ after horror miss at Aston Villa

Struggling Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez had another night to forget on Wednesday after a nightmare miss against Aston Villa, with the misfiring forward labelled ‘so odd’ for his performances. Liverpool took the lead at Villa Park through Mohamed Salah only for Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins to put the home side in front.

Trent Alexander-Arnold levelled things up on 61 minutes and Reds boss Arne Slot put Nunez on five minutes later in a bid to win the match. Just a couple of minutes later the Uruguayan had a glorious opportunity to do just that as Dominik Szoboszlai slid the ball across the goal to him on a quick break.

Nunez was under some pressure from Villa defender Axel Disasi but with the goalkeeper out of the picture, it was a simple finish into an open goal. He didn’t manage it, sending the ball high and wide, looking pretty sheepish after doing so. The former Benfica man has scored just four Premier League goals this season and looks extremely short of confidence despite playing for the league leaders.

ESPN pundit and former Venezuela star Alejandro Moreno says it is a confidence problem to an extent, but also feels Nunez is a very weird striker in that he seems more likely to score difficult chances than easy ones. ‘It’s confidence, but he is so odd, Darwin Nunez, he really is,’ said Moreno.

‘It’s hard to think of another striker at a high level who misses as many easy chances as he does. Easy chances! These are tap-ins and he misses a bunch of those. ‘But then he’s capable of scoring a goal from no angle on the volley. Obviously when he has easy chances when he has time, an open goal, there’s too much thinking going on in that head.

‘When he comes to hitting a ball from no angle there is no thought process, I’m just going to hit it. That’s where the problem lies with Darwin Nunez. ‘When he thinks too much, it’s a problem. When he keeps it about reaction and instinct, that’s when he is the striker that we think, maybe, he can be.’.

Legendary forward Jurgen Klinsmann was also reflecting on the nightmare miss, saying it must be a mental issue with Nunez. ‘Well those things happen for a striker. Those moments come back to you every now and then,’ said the German. ‘It’s a confidence issue, or focus or concentration, he could give us the best answer for that. But that’s something he won’t forget for a couple of nights.’.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Asked about the chance, Slot said during his post-match press conference: ‘What I saw was an unbelievable pass from Conor Bradley and what a power run from Dominik Szoboszlai, who made in my opinion the perfect choice to square it.

‘From a 1v1 with the goalkeeper he made it an open goal chance. It was not Darwin’s best leg – he’s right-footed of course – but it was still a big chance. ‘Very unlucky and I was hoping he would get another chance because a player like him probably wouldn’t miss two chances in a row and he was very close but [Emiliano] Martinez made a great sliding tackle to win the ball.

‘I think we were all disappointed but it’s normal that the player is a bit more disappointed than the rest.’. Arrow MORE: Chelsea respond to Enzo Maresca sack claims after poor run. Arrow MORE: Chelsea stance on Cole Palmer transfer after Champions League release clause claim.