As Darwin Núñez traipsed toward the touchline at the Estadi Montilivi on Tuesday, the Liverpool striker struggled to keep the frustration from his face and cut a forlorn figure as he was replaced by Cody Gakpo.
His 71-minute contribution to his team's 1-0 UEFA Champions League win in Girona was another night to forget in a season that -- for all of Liverpool's collective brilliance -- has been distinctly underwhelming for the Uruguay international, who was signed from Benfica for an initial £64 million transfer fee.
Against Girona, he managed just 16 touches -- the fewest of any starting player on the pitch -- and squandered two of Liverpool's four big chances. While goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga deserves credit for two fine saves, the moment when Núñez inexplicably try to nod Dominik Szoboszlai's deflected cross down into the turf, rather than toward goal, seemed to encapsulate the forward's present rut.
"What I can agree on is that he missed a few chances," Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said when asked in his postmatch news conference whether his No.9 is low on confidence. "Then it's always the question, 'Does this have anything to do with low confidence or is this a situation where he's in at the moment?' I think every striker all around the world has periods where every ball goes in, and sometimes he has a period when you try so hard but you're not able to score.
"I would have loved to see Darwin score, because every striker wants and needs to score goals. That is why I kept him on for quite a long time. He was a threat but, unfortunately, he couldn't score."
Of course, it would be unfair to lay the blame for Liverpool's subpar showing against Girona squarely at Núñez's door. With the exception of goalkeeper Alisson Becker -- making his first appearance in more than two months after recovering from a hamstring problem -- the Premier League leaders looked some way off their best. Even Mohamed Salah, who notched his 16th goal of the season from the penalty spot to continue Liverpool's flawless record in Europe this term, lacked his usual dynamism.
But with Diogo Jota closing in on a return from an eight-week layoff after a rib injury, it is hard not to feel that Núñez has missed his chance to prove he has the credentials to be Liverpool's long-term No.9.
Núñez has quality "coming out of his ears"
From the moment Núñez first pulled on a Liverpool shirt, he has been a polarising figure, as capable of the sublime as he is the ridiculous. He announced himself to Liverpool supporters with his eye-catching showings for Benfica against Jürgen Klopp's side in the 2021-22 Champions League, scoring both home and away for in a season in which he registered an impressive 34 goals in 44 appearances.
"Really good, really good," was Klopp's appraisal of the striker after Liverpool's 3-1 win over Benfica in April 2022. "I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with Ibrahima Konaté.
"He was physically strong, quick, was calm around his finish. Good, really good. I always say in these situations if he is healthy, it's a big career ahead of him."
Two months later and Núñez was a Liverpool player, having moved to Anfield in a deal that could yet end up costing the club £85m; £10m more than the club-record fee paid for defender Virgil van Dijk.
It initially appeared it would prove money well spent, with Núñez coming off the bench to score in the 2022 Community Shield against Manchester City while his opposite number and fellow new arrival, Erling Haaland, spurned several good opportunities. That only intensified the belief that Núñez would develop into the prolific centre-forward Liverpool had been lacking under Klopp with his predecessor, Roberto Firmino, more accustomed to being the selfless facilitator for Salah and Sadio Mané.
In hindsight, those early comparisons with Haaland have transpired to be much more of a hindrance than a help for Núñez. In his maiden season at Anfield, the Uruguayan scored a respectable 14 goals and four assists in all competitions, though he drew plenty of criticism for his profligacy as Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven years. Haaland, meanwhile, sent Premier League records tumbling, scoring 52 goals in as many appearances for City to help Pep Guardiola's side win the treble.
Núñez's stunning cameo against Newcastle United at the start of last season -- in which he came off the bench to score twice for 10-man Liverpool -- set the tone for a more encouraging campaign. He finished with 18 goals and 13 assists and, even as his wastefulness persisted, he appeared to establish himself as a vital cog in Klopp's machine.
"He is not bothered by it and just keeps going," the German said when asked about the criticism aimed at Núñez following Liverpool's 5-1 win over Sparta Prague back in March. "[He's a] wonderful guy, wonderful boy. He loves to play for this team together with these boys and has quality coming out of his ears, to be honest."
Still, a disappointing end to the season, with Núñez scoring just once in his last 11 league games as Liverpool fell away in the title race, once again raised questions about his Anfield future. With Klopp making way for new head coach Slot in the summer, it felt as if the stakes could barely be any higher for the striker heading into this season.
"Not a lot of people understand his game"
Unsurprisingly, the topic of Núñez's future was one of the first matters Slot was tasked with addressing during his official unveiling in July.
"I assume he will fit really well into this [playing style] because I like him," the Dutchman said. "I've told him already. He is one of the players I have spoken to. He might have had some struggles with finishing opportunities but he came a lot of times into those positions. I think he could fit in really well, but it's normal at a club like this that there are many more players who could play in his position."
Despite that endorsement, the Liverpool boss opted to start Jota up front for his team's Premier League opener against Ipswich Town, and the decision was vindicated as the Portugal international opened the scoring at Portman Road. Núñez had to wait until Sept. 21 for his first start for Slot, scoring a spectacular goal in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
"My first instinct when he shot was, 'why does he shoot?'" Slot joked after the game. "I would have said, 'why don't you keep on dribbling?' He made the ball free and I think the defender was on the ground. But then it was a fraction of a second later when I saw the ball go in off the post. Then I was like, 'OK, maybe you are a better football player than I was in the past.'"
While the Dutchman's comments were meant in jest, they were reflective of the broader distrust of Núñez's finishing ability within some quarters of the fanbase. In spite of his struggles, the striker continues to have some high-profile advocates, including former Uruguay teammate and ex-Liverpool striker Luis Suárez.
In an interview with DirecTV in October, Suárez revealed he saw Núñez crying after being on the receiving end of Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa's criticism during a win over Argentina last year.
"I saw Darwin crying, and I told him: 'You are here because of your own merit, because of how hard you work, you are a goal scorer and you are the best,'" Suarez recalled. "'You have to continue like this, forget what others say.'" Salah, too, recently jumped to the defence of his teammate, with whom he has directly combined to deliver 16 goals in 97 games for Liverpool. In a live Q&A with fans, held over Zoom on Saturday, the Egypt international was asked to name his favourite teammate to play alongside.
"It was Firmino, now I feel I generally like playing with Núñez," he said. "A lot of people don't like him, but I like playing with him. I like playing with him in general. A player with different skills. Not a lot of people understand his game."
The past two months, however, have once again brought Núñez's erratic form into sharp focus. After Jota was injured in Liverpool's win over Chelsea, Núñez impressed off the bench, following up his fine cameo with a goal against RB Leipzig in the Champions League and a crucial assist for Salah in October's 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
Since then, though, Núñez has managed just one goal in nine games and was notably named on the bench for arguably Liverpool's biggest game of the season against Manchester City, with Slot instead opting to start Luis Díaz through the middle and Gakpo on the left.
Arne Slot reacts to Liverpool's 1-0 win against Girona in the Champions League.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Núñez has missed 53 big chances for Liverpool. While the numbers appear damning, Haaland has also been guilty of spurning opportunities, missing 77 big chances in the same timeframe, though crucially he has scored 54 goals compared to Núñez's 19.
So far this term, the Uruguayan has underperformed his expected goals (xG), scoring three times from a combined xG of 4.65. The introduction of Slot's tactical nuances has made Núñez less of a chance-magnet for Liverpool. But while the scintillating form of Salah has so far masked some of the No.9's deficiencies, it would be unfair to expect his brilliance alone to power Slot's side to major honours this season, and the clamour for Núñez to start delivering seems to be growing louder.
"It's the story with Darwin Núñez," former Liverpool forward Luis García told "ESPN FC" after Tuesday's game. "We all agree; his work rate is fantastic. He's helping the team because he's always trying to push the opponent but we're missing the last part; the scoring rate.
"It's something we've been waiting for for the past years but it's not arriving. He can score goals but he's not a player who can maybe score 25-30 goals. Something is missing there and we're still waiting. Every single game he gets one, two, or three chances and he's missing the last part. He's missing a little bit of composure in the last moment."
Núñez certainly has a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve, which has endeared him to Liverpool supporters. The striker appeared to appeal directly to those fans -- and his detractors -- in a post to his Instagram story on Wednesday which read: "They are not all, they are some. Thank you Reds for your support, we are all still together."
Certainly, the Anfield crowd have shown no signs of abandoning faith in their mercurial No.9 so far. Even when he spurns a chance, chants of "Núñez, Núñez" can be heard, and there is a palpable sense that match-going supporters are desperate for the striker to come good.
With five more games before the end of the year, Núñez will no doubt get more opportunities to prove he should be part of Slot's long-term plans. But with the Dutchman asserting on Tuesday that "standards have to go up" if Liverpool want to compete for the biggest prizes, there is a sense that Núñez is running out of time to raise the bar.