Liverpool had a less than ideal return to Premier League action this weekend, having had to wait it out for their next clash after Storm Darragh called off the Merseyside Derby.
It was a stormy game in truth between the Reds and Fulham, as Andrew Robertson’s early red card set the tone for a contest that was frantic rather than straightforward for Andre Slot’s table-toppers, with the final score reading 2-2.
Away from Robertson’s underperformance, Slot would have at least been impressed by Darwin Nunez’s late cameo from off the bench, with the Uruguayan playing a key part in the late equalising goal.
Darwin Nunez’s form this season
Nunez was only gifted a 20-minute run-out against Marco Silva’s men, but that would still be enough time for the out-of-sorts striker to leave his mark on the contest.
The former Benfica man poked the ball into Diogo Jota’s path to fire home, which means his total for the season in the Premier League for goals and assists now stands at a still underwhelming four.
Nunez just hasn’t exactly breathed life into his stuttering Reds stay under the fresh ways of the new Dutch manager with only six starts handed to him in the league to date by the ex-Feyenoord boss.
It’s fair to say his time at Anfield was beginning to unravel under Klopp too, with an unsatisfactory 11 strikes in the league during 2023/24, as the likes of Jota now regularly lead the line over him.
Not all hope will be lost just yet surrounding the South American, however, with other striker missteps far more gutting to those of a Liverpool persuasion in the past, which includes one injury-prone attacker never quite managing to settle.
The Liverpool striker who was worse than Nunez
Danny Ings joined the Reds during the infancy of Klopp’s celebrated reign, having built up a reputation at Burnley before the bright lights of Liverpool beckoned for being a potent goalscorer.
He bowed out from his time with the Clarets by netting 11 Premier League strikes during the 2014/15 season, with the German hopeful that his new clinical buy could go on to be a hero donning Liverpool red.
In truth, Ings’ time on Merseyside would be very turbulent, with the striker suffering from some horrendous luck just five games into his big move.
Scoring an acceptable two goals across that stretch of matches, it looked as if there was plenty more to come from the ex-Burnley man as he grew in confidence, only for a devastating anterior cruciate ligament injury to stop him in his tracks.
|
Ings’ numbers at Liverpool |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Ings |
|
Games played |
25 |
|
Goals scored |
4 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Games missed through injury |
96 |
|
Day missed through injury |
498 |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
|
His constant presence in the treatment room ultimately got the better of him during his time at the Reds, with Ings staggeringly missing 498 days of action owing to various long-term injury issues, resulting in 96 games also passing him by.
Even though Klopp labelled his unfortunate striker as an “inspiration” in the way he managed to fight back from these lengthy layoffs, Liverpool eventually sold Ings to Southampton in the summer of 2019 for £20m after the now 32-year-old pushed for a move away to gain more game-time.
“The way Danny has attacked his rehab and the hunger he has shown to be back with the team is something I can only describe as an inspiration. His attitude and character around the building during this time has impressed me more than I can express.”
Whilst the ex-Liverpool man did prove himself to be a reliable source of goals for the Saints, with a healthy 46 goals tallied up from 100 appearances on the South Coast, Ings is now finding his time at West Ham United is petering out in the present day.
Even Nunez has one more strike than the Hammers dud has managed in Premier League action this season, with Ings very much more of a flop than the Uruguayan when he was back at Liverpool.
Slot will persist with the ex-Benfica attacker, with a start perhaps even coming his way this mid-week when EFL Cup action comes Liverpool’s way against Ings’ former employers in Southampton.
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