Darwin Nunez has certainly had an eventful start to his career at Liverpool.
Arriving in the summer for a fee that could eventually rise to €100million, many expected that Uruguayan to have an immediate impact in the Premier League. That looked like it would be the case initially, with the striker producing scoring cameos off the bench against Manchester City in the Community Shield and in his league debut against Fulham.
However, his first start in the following game was a disaster. Nunez would be sent off in the second half after head-butting Crystal Palace defender Joachim Anderson.
Since returning from his three game ban, it has been a mixed bag. The 23-year old has produced some very impressive pieces of play, but each one of those seemed to be matched with an equally puzzling contribution to the game.
Darwin Núñez is... interesting.
What he fails to do is quite some watch, but what else he's doing is quite... effective?!https://t.co/v3StrOhH4l pic.twitter.com/T6STuzSfJc— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) October 19, 2022
Last night's match against West Ham featured more of the former.
Darwin Nunez breaks impressive Premier League record
Darwin Nunez would be the match winner at Anfield, with his thundering first half header proving to be the difference between the sides.
A stunning Tsimikas cross, met by an excellent @Darwinn99 header ⚽ pic.twitter.com/cL24ZySIPZ
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 19, 2022
It was a very good overall display from the forward. He could have had a couple more goals in the opening 45 minutes, forcing an excellent save from Lukasz Fabianski and one point and then hitting the post with an excellent strike at another.
He would be withdrawn before the hour mark as a precaution after feeling a slight muscle issue, with Liverpool's level of play noticeably dropping off after his substitution.
Their supporters certainly would have been impressed with what they saw from the big money signing. He has been billed as a 'traditional no. 9' by many, with his goal against West Ham showing he can certainly fill that role.
In saying that, his physicality is not the most eye-catching aspect of his game. Looking at Nunez, it's difficult not to be taken aback by the raw pace he possesses. Despite his size, he continues to leave opposition defenders in his wake when chasing down balls in behind.
That has been obvious for those who have watched him this season, but we now have the stats to back it up.
During last night's fixture, Darwin Nunez would clock a top speed of 38 km/h. That is not only the highest mark recorded in the Premier League this season, but it is actually the fastest any player has been clocked at since record keeping began according to Amazon Prime during their coverage of the game. The old record was held by Kyle Walker.
Darwin Nunez clocked a top speed of 38km/h vs West Ham, beating Kyle Walker's record of 37.802 km/h in June 2020.
Speed. ⚡️💨 pic.twitter.com/NAHA4xEu5D— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) October 19, 2022
Incase you hadn’t heard - Darwin Nuñez just became the Premier League’s fastest player, hitting a top speed of 38 km/h. pic.twitter.com/GaZbCX1l6j
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) October 20, 2022
The highest speed recorded in the whole 21/22 PL season was 36.7KPH by Antonio Rudiger
Darwin Núñez was recorded at 38KPH against Westham … pic.twitter.com/int56cgtEr— - (@PassLikeThiago) October 19, 2022
This is just one example of what Darwin Nunez can offer to the Liverpool team, and while last night's performance was an impressive one, he will have to improve in many areas of his game if he is to live up to that lofty price tag.
Despite being ridiculed by many, there have been glimpses as to why Jurgen Klopp was so keen to bring him to Anfield.
It will be interesting to see how he performs over the remainder of the campaign.
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