PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

January 23rd, 2024 Premier League comments

PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DARWINISM AT ITS FINEST

The Premier League’s winter break meant that there were only five games this weekend but one man stood out above the rest.

Our Player of the Week is …

Darwin Núñez (Liverpool)

The Oxford English Dictionary describes the term ‘box office’ as: “noun. the place in a cinema or theatre where tickets are sold or the number of tickets that are sold for a film, as a measure of how popular and financially successful a film or actor is.”

In Premier League terms though, there is perhaps no player more ‘box office’ than Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez.

For good or bad, the Uruguay international is simply appointment television, the sort of player you tune in for – no matter who you support – just to see what might happen.

Before the Reds’ trip to Bournemouth this weekend, Darwin had the sixth highest ‘expected goals’ tally of anyone in the top division.

With 9.4 he was above the likes of Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins and only below Alexander Isak and league-leader Erling Haaland in purely numerical terms.

With his ‘expected shots per goal’ however, the former Benfica man was way down the list in 30th.

In short, it meant that Darwin hadn’t been taking his chances this season despite getting in great positions to do so.

Still though, the wayward forward was getting picked by Jürgen Klopp, playing 62 per cent of the minutes available this term.

“You cannot be more unlucky,” the manager told reporters after Darwin missed a host of opportunities in their draw with Arsenal over the festive period.

But this weekend that faith paid of handsomely.

Liverpool travelled to the south coast to take on a Bournemouth outfit who, going into this clash, were second in the Premier League form table having performed brilliantly pre and post-Christmas.

But alongside Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota, Darwin was at the heart of everything the Merseyside outfit did well on an afternoon where they truly nailed their colours to the title aspiration mast.

After an edgy first half that ebbed and flowed, the visitors flew out of the blocks in the second 45 and dismantled Andoni Iraola’s side with four brilliant goals.

Darwin netted two of them with the first a clever, instinctive finish inside the area.

The second meanwhile showed just what a player enjoying some confidence can do – showing pace to get ahead of his man, using his body to block off the defensive runner and then prodding in first time.

That second goal, to make it 4-0, was Darwin’s 25th in a Liverpool shirt and took the South American attacker to 10 in all competitions this season.

Making it to double digits also meant that Darwin is now the first player in the Premier League register 10 goals and 10 assists this season.

Box office indeed.