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Darwin Núñez inspired a second half turnaround for Liverpool on Saturday, scoring the equaliser and winning a penalty for which Mohamed Salah converted his first of two as the Reds survived potential embarrassment against Southampton, winning 3-1.

This followed an instant impact from the substitute bench in Paris last week, with the Uruguayan managing to keep composure to assist Harvey Elliott for the winner in their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 first leg versus Paris Saint-Germain.

Following these two impressive showings from Núñez, we have looked into why he should be given the nod to start the second leg against the Parisiens on Tuesday.



A SURPRISE TURN IN FORM

This season, Darwin Núñez has shown glimpses of good form under Arne Slot when given his opportunity, but a lack of consistency has continued to remain a huge stumbling block from him being able to work a way into the starting eleven.

Slot began his tenure with Diogo Jota as his preferred man in the Premier League and this remained throughout the first few months of the season.

Núñez then had to settle for game time in the domestic cup competitions and the odd UEFA Champions League game where rotation would come into play.

This has led to just eighteen starts in thirty-eight matches and the weekend was a first in seven, since Liverpool’s 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur in last month’s second leg of their Carabao Cup Semi-Final.

The forward was also twice publicly criticised by his own manager over attitude in recent weeks, but Slot was quick to heap praise on his forward post-Southampton after a morale-boosting few days.

“Did you see Darwin Nùñez’s performance?

Especially in the second half, it became evident what work rate he can offer to the team.”

The Dutchman also revealed that he ran the risk of sticking with Núñez after the break, despite the forward naively kicking out at Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters leading to a yellow card, and VAR deciding to stick to the referee’s on-field decision.

On the potential half-time substitution:

“In the end I took him off because he was on a yellow but I always hate the idea that if we need to score goals, to take someone off who can score a goal.”

If we don’t score a goal, Jots [Jota] needs to come in and we have to go even more offensive.

With Cody [Gakpo] being out, it wasn’t like we had that many attacking options left.”

“That’s why it wasn’t in my mind” [at half time].

NÚÑEZ CAN BULLY PSGHugo Pfeiffer/Icon Sport via Getty Images.

In the first leg, Liverpool were surprised by Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance.

On the very rare occasion the Reds attempted to go forward, the decision-making and final ball was a real letdown.

PSG can be credited for their man-marking of Luis Díaz, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah but some blame has to go towards Liverpool’s forward players, with very little movement in the decisive moments.

Jota endured a tricky night with his first-touch or decisiveness in the final third always getting the better of him, leading to an expected substitution late on.

Darwin Nùñez certainly made an impact and gave the centre-backs something different to think about.

His hold-up play and direct runs in behind the defence began to work wonders as Liverpool finally started to lay a glove on their opponents – following a mismatch for 85 minutes.

Nunez’s hard work came to fruition when the forward controlled a long, forward ball whilst wrestling with Marquinhos and managed to shrug off the Brazilian, before setting up Harvey Elliott to score a smash-and-grab winner.

Despite the victory, it is clear to see that Liverpool lacked a clear focal point of their attack with Jota off the pace, something that has become an unwanted familiarity in recent weeks.

Darwin Núñez can be that man and a bully to the defenders, through his pace and physicality.

FRESH LEGS

The Carabao Cup Final may be only a few days away, but Liverpool will have to go strong once more for PSG’s second leg visit.

Alexis Mac Allister and Andy Robertson are expected to return to the eleven after playing forty-five against Southampton and Nùñez can be another fresh face, having played just one ninety minutes in the past seven matches.

The Uruguayan is very capable of causing havoc to the Paris Saint-Germain backline, with his energy to stretch the defence, whilst feeding off the incredible Anfield atmosphere that it is set to be, for potentially another special European night.

As for the opponents, the Parisiens were able to rest eight of their players during a 4-1 victory over Stade Rennes on Saturday, whilst Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah will very likely be required to go again, despite playing the full game against Southampton.

Arne Slot will have to choose between Diogo Jota or Darwin Nùñez to lead the line against PSG.

AP Photo/John Super.

Darwin Nùñez should be a shoe-in for Liverpool’s starting eleven against PSG, in place of Diogo Jota.

Despite the obvious frustration that comes with him, confidence is a huge thing and is deserving of back-to-back starts.

There is a scenario where Núñez could prove to be the difference maker over the two legs, despite a frustrating personal season for the forward.

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