Darwin Nunez mightn’t be the most graceful of centre-forwards to have pulled on the Liverpool shirt, but one thing which could never be questioned is his passion for representing this great club.
The 25-year-old has only found the net seven times this season and had to be content with coming off the bench for the final quarter-hour of the Merseyside derby triumph on Wednesday night.
That was still time enough for him to be involved in a tangle with Jordan Pickford as, with the Uruguay striker running towards a 50-50 ball without realising that the referee’s whistle had blown, the Everton goalkeeper unceremoniously booted him at knee-height.
Nunez riled up the Kop with simple message
Nunez had gone down briefly to receive treatment and was booked for alleged time-wasting after momentarily rolling back onto the field of play (while, of course, the Toffees’ number 1 got away scot-free with his reckless and needless challenge).
As the Liverpool striker got to his feet and walked with a member of the Reds’ medical staff towards the corner flag, he turned to the Kop and whipped his arms in the air frantically, as if trying to whip the fans into a frenzy (not that it was needed at 1-0 in a derby with stoppage time looming!).
Footage from the latest episode of Inside Anfield on LFC’s official YouTube channel also picked up the Uruguayan bellowing “Come on!” three times to the supporters in front of him as he urged them to help his team to get over the line victorious.
Nunez wears his heart on his sleeve, and we love it!
Whatever criticism one might label at Nunez in terms of the consistency of his finishing or his tendency to be caught needlessly offside, there’s no denying that he cares intensely about playing his part for Liverpool.
Cast your mind back to the madcap celebrations for his stoppage-time winner at Nottingham Forest last season, when he kicked an advertising hoarding as he let out his emotions in that joyous moment.
We also suspect that the Reds’ number 9 was riled by what could politely be described as a robust challenge by Pickford, who as we know has previous for taking out opponents in a Merseyside derby, and by getting a harsh yellow card for perceived time-wasting while his assailant was unpunished for a much cruder offence.
Thankfully Nunez and his teammates were the ones celebrating at the final whistle as Liverpool secured a cathartic win to restore their 12-point lead at the Premier League summit, a result they’ll be aiming to repeat away to Fulham on Sunday.
You can check out the footage of Nunez roaring to the Kop below (from 17:00), via Liverpool FC on YouTube:
