A prolific Liverpool attacker needs just 62 minutes to make his imprint, placing him in a league of his own this season and even surpassing Erling Haaland’s statistics.
When Liverpool and Manchester City each required a new number nine a little over a year ago, they chose two very different players. City chose for the well-oiled machine of Erling Haaland, while Jürgen Klopp opted for the untamed renegade that is Darwin Nez.
The two were immediately compared to one another upon their arrival at their respective teams. When comparing the two teams’ first seasons, however, Haaland initially stood out as the superior option. Haaland’s performance for Manchester City last year was clearly extraordinary.
Now, however, Nez has the chance to one-up his Norwegian rival. They definitely haven’t been following the script of the Uruguayan’s career if they assumed the contest was finished after just one season.
Nez gets off to a poor start. He takes everything slow and easy, unlike Haaland. This season, Nez has proven that a player’s career is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Uruguayan made the difference once again as he came off the bench for Liverpool, this time following a stellar performance against Brazil on international duty. The Reds’ attack is bolstered by his speed and strength, on display in the game’s dying moments as he set up Mohamed Salah for a brace and the decisive score.
With his last goal assist, Nez now has a season average of one for Liverpool of one per 62.3 minutes played across all competitions. An astoundingly high rate, one that even puts Haaland’s numbers to shame thus far, with the Norwegian averaging a return at ‘only’ every 104.4 minutes this season.
Since September, Nez has improved his goal-scoring and assist-making rates even more for Uruguay, with two goals and three assists in only four games. Nez’s star is clearly on the rise, not just in a Liverpool jersey but also on the international stage. His consistency in showing off his skills for both his club and nation gives hope that this is more than just a brief hot streak.
It’s possible that Haaland outperformed him in the pilot. It appears that Nez may be able to defeat the Norwegian this time.