What guilty Darwin Nunez did immediately after opening Liverpool goal speaks volumes

Liverpool secured a lead in Leipzig courtesy of Darwin Nunez’s close-range opener.

Arne Slot will have been watching eagerly as his Reds sought to secure a club-record 11th win in their 12 opening games of the season.

The Merseysiders have yet to lose or drop points in the Champions League – at the time of writing. Notably, their sole loss of the season came against Nottingham Forest back in mid-September, with the club otherwise flawless.

What did Darwin Nunez do after Liverpool goal?

Darwin Nunez was looking more than a little sheepish after putting Liverpool ahead before the half-time break.

The Merseysiders responded quickly after the hosts appeared to take the lead at the Red Bull Arena. A stunning effort from Lois Openda was chalked off for offside mere moments before Arne Slot’s men went up the other end and took first blood themselves.

Joint top scorer Mo Salah guided an airborne ball into the corner of the net with a well-placed header. At the very least, he would have, but for his teammate’s last-minute intervention.

The No.9 did immediately celebrate with the former Roma winger before acknowledging the Egyptian’s efforts during his interaction with Virgil van Dijk. The 2022 signing was spotted pointing at the No.11 with a wry smile on TNT‘s coverage.

Liverpool take the lead ?

Darwin Nunez makes sure the ball goes in – just minutes after a RB Leipzig goal was denied by the offside flag ?

? @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/2JeL0osqi6

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 23, 2024

When was the last time Darwin Nunez scored for Liverpool?

The former Benfica hitman has come under heavy fire of late for his scoring drought in 2024/25.

Prior to finding the back of the net in Germany on Wednesday night, Darwin Nunez had registered just one goal and assist in eight games.

His last effort came during a 3-0 win over Bournemouth in late September. Admittedly, the £64m signing hasn’t been treated to an abundance of minutes (367 in comparison to Diogo Jota’s 653). Though, one could forgive pundits for raising a brow at these numbers.

The difficulty for Liverpool and Arne Slot is that they can’t otherwise complain about the quality of Nunez’s contributions.

Nunez impressed against Chelsea

Tellingly, the striker was one of the Merseysiders’ most front-footed defensive assets in an impressive display against Chelsea at the weekend. He won 7/12 ground duels, plus a further two aerial duels as the hosts looked to secure control over proceedings at Anfield, courtesy of Sofascore.

The goals do need to start flowing, but in the meantime, Nunez is ticking the kind of boxes Arne Slot will want addressed.

Perhaps his latest effort against RB Leipzig will be just what the doctor ordered ahead of a crunch period of fixtures.

Otherwise, another drop-off from the No.11 may encourage Liverpool to consider alternative striking options.