Jamie Carragher has stated that Darwin Nunez is starting to ‘justify his price-tag’ after he scored during Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Liverpool legend pointed out how Nunez has four goals from his past four starts, but thinks Jurgen Klopp’s side were slightly fortunate in Amsterdam because ‘it’s a better result on paper that the performance suggests’, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (26/10/22 at 10:15 pm).
That win also puts Liverpool through to the knockout stages of the Champions League and now it’s a case of trying to get that top spot off Napoli.
The high-flying Italian club eased past bottom-of-the-table Rangers last night, and in truth, unless there is a big goal swing, the Reds will end up with that runners-up spot.
But that doesn’t mean that next week’s home clash against the Serie A table-toppers won’t be a tasty encounter because Luciano Spalletti’s unbeaten side could argue that they are the best team in Europe right now.
Nonetheless, Carragher feels that his former side needs to get through these next few weeks and then ‘sort themselves out’ during the World Cup break.
“It was a good win, it really was,” said Carragher. “Liverpool were fortunate to go in at half-time leading the game. Ajax were the better team and had the better chances.
“But Ajax don’t have Mo Salah and that’s why Liverpool went 1-0 in front. Then, in the second half, Liverpool weren’t at the races, but similar to what happened to Rangers away from home, they weathered the storm in the first half and then come out as convincing winners.
“Nunez missed an absolutely golden opportunity late in the first half. But he gets on the scoresheet, that’s four in four now, in terms of when he has started the games, so he is starting to justify the price-tag.
“It’s a better result on paper than the performance suggests and it puts Liverpool through – Liverpool have to get to the World Cup and sort themselves out. They are one of the best teams in Europe, but nowhere near that.”
NUNEZ CONTINUING TO IMPROVE
There seems to be more noise about Nunez on the outside than what he is producing out on the pitch because, when handed the chance, he is scoring.
Yes, at times, he can fluff his chances in front of the goal, and he did hit the post from an open goal last night, but his numbers are still strong.
The 23-year-old has six goals from his 13 games in all competitions, including two in the Champions League and scoring the winning goal the last time he played in the Premier League against West Ham.
That was a big win for the Reds, because it was away from home, as they now prepare for a home time tie against relegation-threatened Leeds United at the weekend.
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