Community Shield – More Cavani than Mané, Liverpool opens its new era Nunez

It will only be the very first official match of a long season, but it will already be particularly watched. Darwin Nunez will lead Liverpool’s attack against Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday (6pm). Flagship recruit of the Reds this summer, he displays the ideal qualities for the game advocated by Jürgen Klopp. However, he will have to blend into an already well-established collective and fill in the departure of Sadio Mané to Bayern Munich.

At the age of 23, Darwin Nunez is not necessarily considered the successor to the 30-year-old Senegalese who has long served as a potential candidate for the Ballon d’Or last season. Unlike the player who left for Bayern, he has a real goalscoring profile. His 2021-2022 financial year and his 22 goals in 26 matches in the Portuguese championship bear witness to this, as do his six achievements in ten Champions League games.

Liverpool is banking on its formidable efficiency and did not hesitate to put 75 million euros plus 25 in bonuses on the table to snatch it from Benfica. Nunez has qualities close to those of Edinson Cavani with a great burst of energy, incessant racing and a great ability to conclude attacks with a touch of the ball against the opposing cage. In this sense, he differs from Mané but also from Roberto Firmino who participate more in the construction of offensives thanks to their mobility.

Typical Uruguayan energy and grinta

Less technically fine than the Senegalese and the Brazilian, the Uruguayan nevertheless knows how to make himself available by his calls as Diogo Jota can do. Much more powerful than the Portuguese, Nunez will weigh more heavily on English defences. It thus totally corresponds to the “Heavy Metal football” advocated by Jürgen Klopp.

“He’s super generous,” enthused the German coach after the quadruple achieved by Nunez during the friendly match won largely against RB Leipzig (5-0) especially since the very first steps of the player had not been fully convincing. To the point of seeing unflattering but particularly viral compilations flourish on social networks, named “Darwin Nunez transforms easy things by making them visibly impossible”.

Against the German club, the striker had started the machine by transforming a penalty with a little success before chaining the goals in his direct style. His shots aren’t always the most accurate, but he puts enough power into them to fool the goalkeepers. “He was under pressure because of his transfer, explained Klopp. He’s a different goalscorer to the ones we have or have had but he’s a very good one.”

An already central role

Klopp is cajoling his new centre-forward because he is counting on him a lot for the coming season but also the following ones. Unlike Luis Diaz, who arrived last winter from Porto and who was able to make his mark, Nunez immediately finds himself with an important role to play. In addition to the departure of Mané, Liverpool saw Takumi Minamino join Monaco. Jota is currently injured and Firmino, less used than before, is being tracked by Juventus. The 30-year-old Brazilian is not for sale but he will be out of contract in June 2023 and could change tunes this summer.

Mohamed Salah, he recently extended his lease until 2025 and is positioning himself a little more like the big star of the Reds. Darwin Nunez will quickly have to learn to evolve with the Egyptian who is a fantastic player but sometimes likes to carry the ball a little too much and is not always tender with his partners as was sometimes the case with Sadio Mané.

On the other hand, Nunez should have no trouble getting along with the Colombian Luis Diaz who had a comparable journey between Latin America and Portugal before integrating perfectly with the Reds. Klopp is already delighted with Nunez’s attitude during his first weeks at his new club. “He’s a really nice guycommented the German coach. He loves being here. Our Spanish community helps him a lot. He is already learning English, he tries to learn the basics as quickly as possible, so everything is going well. He’s heading in the right direction.”

Its first official release could already give a good indication of this. Facing him will be Manchester City, the Reds’ main rival for the Premier League title, and Erling Haaland, another huge summer rookie in attack this summer in England. Against the Norwegian goal machine, Nunez has a good opportunity to give a first return on investment. And launch on good foundations a relationship made to last on the banks of the Mersey.