Jurgen Klopp believes “you can’t be more unlucky” than Darwin Nunez had with opportunities denied for Liverpool, but praised his number 9’s “contribution in every game.”
It’s something of a joke now, at least among rival fans, that Núñez does everything but finish for Liverpool.
Only Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin (-3.9) has underperformed his xG by a larger margin than Núñez (-3.6) in this season’s Premier League, while the Uruguayan comfortably led this metric on Wednesday at night.
Frustrated by a brilliant save from Bernd Leno when he did hit the target against Fulham, Núñez finished the 2-1 win with an xG of 0.76 and xGOT of 0.88, but no goals.
However, he assisted on both goals, taking his season tally to 10 assists, more than any other Liverpool player.
“I don’t know how to explain Darwin’s situation,” Klopp admitted in his post-match press conference.
“I’m very happy with our crowd, how they take it; I’m very happy about Darwin’s reaction, how he takes it.
“But you can’t be more unlucky than him in this final situation, it’s just not possible. Everything was fine and then the ball didn’t go in.
“Then he still prepares the other goal. I really think it’s really special to do that again.
“For Mo in the other game, probably West Ham if I’m not mistaken, and today for Cody. Super special.”
Núñez has transformed his reputation this campaign, becoming a firm favorite among fans after losing his place in the team in the second half of last season.
There was even disappointment that the 24-year-old did not start in the first leg of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final, but Klopp explained why.
“He plays exceptionally. I have to say it, I have to say it,” the manager continued.
“There are so many things I really love about the game.
“The first year was a year of adaptation, and he scored here and there, but now the contribution in every game.
“He would have started tonight, but he had cramps in the last game, so three days later he is not starting.
“The boys don’t start because they score or not, my faith and trust in them is, as long as they behave correctly, infinite.
“They just deserve it for the effort they put in.
“That you can bring Cody and Darwin off the bench, that’s a suitable change.
“On top of that, we changed the system, the formation and the configuration, so suddenly the high pressure was no longer organized, there were problems there, we tried to fix that from the outside, and suddenly the protection was not there .
“But the offensive situations were much better and that’s good. “He’s a big part of that.”
