With Liverpool’s current formation change, Darwin Nunez has benefited greatly. The nine for the Reds has been mentioned by Pep Lijnders.

In 2022, Pep Lijnders had a big impact on Liverpool’s player acquisitions. According to the Dutchman’s book, Intensity, he participated in the reconnaissance of a certain Luis Daz during the January transfer window of that year; the Colombian forward went on to join for the Reds from FC Porto.

Before moving to Merseyside about ten years ago, Lijnders, Jürgen Klopp’s assistant, was a coach at the Portuguese club, thus he is familiar with the Primeira Liga and can speak the language. The fact that Liverpool snatched up another enormous talent from Portugal six months later in the form of Darwin Nunez may not have come as a s/h/o/c/k.

The Uruguayan international was in the process of seizing the spotlight on the European arena when he was acquired from Benfica. He had a reputation as a clinical, merciless, and intense attacker. Nunez scored 26 goals in the top flight of Portugal in his final season there, and the numbers behind those performances helped Liverpool decide to spend money to recruit him.

The South American finished that season in first place in the Primeira Liga when compared to every other player who registered at least 55 shots on goal. He did this by scoring on 27.2% of his shots. In fact, Nunez had the highest rate of goal-to-shot conversion among players in the top six European divisions.

He appeared to be an expert at locating the target as well. For Benfica, he took 85 shots in all throughout the season, 44 of which found the goal, or 51.8% of them. For comparison, in the same Premier League season, Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah, and Diogo Jota all made at least 36.3 percent of their shots on goal.

Nunez was a young 22-year-old who was quick, combative, and physically fit. He was about 1.87 meters tall. But when he got to Merseyside, it was obvious that he would need to be tactically accommodated since he was different from Roberto Firmino, the player who had worn the number nine shirt before him.

The new kid on the block preferred to remain in the penalty area and score goals, whilst the old guard was naturally better at sliding deeper into midfield zones. Due to the tactical mistakes made on the pitch, Nunez’s first season was marked by a lack of spark.

Lijnders would ultimately be the one to initiate a shift that would be advantageous to Nunez. The Reds coach recommended Klopp to adjust his formation last season as Liverpool battled to maintain consistency in the Premier League. He said that Trent Alexander-Arnold should switch to being an auxiliary midfielder whenever the Anfield team had possession under control.

Liverpool hasn’t lost in 18 games in all competitions since the format change. Lijnders stated last month in an interview with the Training Ground Guru Podcast that “the squad got together again and we were well balanced: we didn’t suffer counter-attacks as we did before. Players can regain their sense of freedom and comfort with just a small adjustment. The opposing press was effective. You must look for the midfield because if you control it, you will control the game.

Nunez has been able to be Nunez so far this season thanks to the extra presence in the park’s center. This season, he is averaging a goal or an assist every 52 minutes. His midfield position allows him to nearly never touch the ball because he is always in the penalty area.

Lijnders presided over Liverpool’s press conference this week in preparation for their Carabao Cup match against Leicester City. When asked about Nunez, he spoke highly of him right away. He replied, “Congratulations to Darwin, the fans adore him. He has this mindset of running, fighting, and getting to places no one thinks he can. an expert in intuition. Goals are in the air. He is working out quite hard.

Nunez is now able to devote almost all of his effort on securing opportunities owing to Lijnders. Since Alexander-Arnold has been transformed into a quarterback in the middle of the field under Liverpool’s new system, he is no longer expected to play like Firmino or Mané.

The intuition that Lijnders mentioned in his appreciation for him can now control how he acts on the field. Overall, I get the impression that it won’t be long before Nunez reverts to form for Benfica in England.