After a difficult night at Villa Park in midweek, Darwin Nunez cut a far happier figure following the full-time whistle against Manchester City on Sunday evening.
The Liverpool striker missed a gilt-edged chance to score in the 2-2 draw against Unai Emery’s side, with Arne Slot admitting afterwards that the 25-year-old felt ‘quite down’ as he trudged off the pitch alone after the match ended.
Our number 9 didn’t get the chance to make amends today, having been an unused substitute at the Etihad Stadium, but his post-match demeanour today was in stark contract to Wednesday night.
Nunez gestures to Liverpool fans
As Nunez approached the travelling Liverpool fans after the final whistle in Manchester, he was serenaded by repeated chants of his surname in appreciation.
He responded by tapping the club crest on his jacket and giving a triumphant thumbs-up and a fist pump as he revelled in the Reds’ 2-0 win, which has put them 11 points clear at the top and prompted LFC supporters to declare through song that the Premier League title is on its way to Anfield.
Great to see Nunez feeling the love from Liverpool fans
Nunez can be a maddening footballer at times, as he showed with his inexplicable miss against Villa in midweek, and his solo exit from the pitch was criticised by some fans on social media.
However, he’s often shown in the past that he doesn’t let setbacks get him down, continually showing for the ball even when he’s spurned a gilt-edged chance to score, and he clearly continues to be appreciated by match-going Liverpool fans.
It remains to be seen what the summer has in store for him, with David Lynch claiming in recent days that the 25-year-old will ‘100% leave’ the club after the end of this season, citing Saudi Arabia as the striker’s likeliest destination.
For now, though, Nunez seems all-in at Anfield; and even if he doesn’t start many games over the next three months, he’ll surely make a few more vital contributions to the Reds’ increasingly promising pursuit of the Premier League title.
You can view Nunez gesturing to the Liverpool fans below, via @asim_lfc on X:
Nunez shows his love to the fans ❤️#LFC pic.twitter.com/lPtlqajHLM
— Asim (@asim_lfc) February 23, 2025
Me personally love nunez coz he has made me to forget about Origi.
He always save us when we are helpless.
We shouldn’t let him go like that!
Thanks
Really hope to see Nunez staying at Anfield and show us all what he is really capable of.
Nunez is just going through a bad patch. He must be given a little more time. He has shown in the past how good he is he just needs a run of games,
It’s pointless listening to fans on social media they don’t go to the games and probably couldn’t even point to Liverpool on the map. When you see a player on TV they have a max of 80 touches per game if they are a midfielder so you’re only seeing maybe a max of 8 minutes of a player per game. You don’t see what they do off the ball, their work rate, positioning, runs when they don’t get the ball. That’s why everyone who actually goes and watches Liverpool know how much Nunez does for the team and always back him