Darwin Nunez equalled a Premier League record for this season inside the first half of Liverpool’s clash against Manchester City this afternoon – but it wasn’t a particularly brilliant one.
The Reds went in at the interval trailing 1-0 and, while they had some openings prior to half-time, failed to land a shot on target by then (Sofascore).
Writing in Sky Sports’ live matchday blog, Nick Wright noted an eyebrow-raising statistic from the first half in relation to the Uruguayan.
The journalist pointed out (16:29): “Nunez has been caught offside five times. It’s already the joint-most by any player in a Premier League game all season – and we’re not even at half-time.”
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Indeed, Nunez accounted for all five occasions that Liverpool were flagged offside in the first half this afternoon (Sofascore).
That suggests that either the City defence have done a marvellous job to frustrate the 24-year-old, or he hasn’t quite been sharp enough to punish any possible chinks in the visitors’ backline.
The Uruguayan came into this match in flying form, with five goals in his previous four games (Transfermarkt), but he was left feeding off scraps in the first 45 minutes against Pep Guardiola’s side.
There’s still a second half to come at the time of writing, and hopefully if Nunez can time his runs that bit better, he’ll get one or two big chances and duly make the most of them.