Gary Neville shared during the first-half against Manchester City where Darwin Nunez has to improve if the Liverpool striker is going to prove to be the real thing.
Neville was speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 25/11; 12:47) after the Uruguayan failed to get a shot away after being played through on goal in the early stages against the champions.
Darwin Nunez had a golden chance to put Liverpool ahead at the Etihad Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai played the striker in, and it seemed that Nunez was about to find himself one on one with Ederson.
Gary Neville questions Darwin Nunez after missed chance
However, the 24-year-old struggled to get the ball out of his feet. And that allowed the Manchester City defenders to get around him and make sure that the chance came to nothing.
And Gary Neville suggested that it was not good enough from the forward.
“That’s where Nunez has the game. That’s where Nunez has the game. He’s got to improve that bit,” he told Sky Sports.
“There’s a big chance against Manchester City. He knows it. He’s through on goal if his first touch is right. That’s where you go from potential and that raw diamond into the real thing. Just that first touch, second touch, third, fourth. He can never really get it out of his feet.”
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Liverpool striker is definitely getting there
What probably did not help was Erling Haaland proving to be so lethal when he was then played in just before the break.
But Nunez has been in brilliant form so far this season, and was excellent during the international break. He has scored seven goals and contributed six assists in all competitions so far this season for the Reds.
Nunez has definitely taken a big step forward this term after a mixed first year at Anfield. And on another day, his first touch would have been much better and would have allowed him to get a shot away.
Ultimately, Nunez has the quality to be an elite striker. But Liverpool desperately needed him to take one of the opportunities which came his way against a City side that defends so well.
Had that chance been taken, it could have been a very different occasion for Liverpool.