Pep Lijnders comes up with 'new song' for Darwin Nuñez

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has reiterated his happiness with Darwin Nuñez, insisting the forward will only improve with time.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan scored a well-taken double as the Reds beat Bournemouth 4-0 on Sunday. The goals made him the first Premier League player to reach ten goals and ten assists in all competitions in 2023/24.

Prior to that, however, Nuñez had netted just once in 16 games in all competitions, while debate over the No. 9's erratic finishing continues.

After the Bournemouth win, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has predicted that Nuñez will continue to be hit and miss in front of goal for the Reds, but praised the other qualities he brings to the team.

The former defender told Sky Sports: "I don’t think he’ll change too much, he’ll have games like today where he scores twice and then he might miss a sitter against Fulham in midweek. But I’ve always called him 'captain chaos' because he’ll pop up with goals but at the same time he has a sheer physical power that makes defenders not want to play against him every week.

"Eighteen months in, I don’t think we’ll see anything different with Nuñez, he is what he is, and he’s a right handful. He’ll miss chances like all strikers do, but a good attacker isn’t just about scoring goals – there’s a lot more about it than that and he’s got some of those other skills in abundance."

Speaking ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg clash away at Fulham, Lijnders hailed the forward's ability to create chances 'by himself', insisting everyone is happy with his efforts.

"Chaos! All around him... that could be a song!" Lijnders joked – although he failed to specify the tune to go with the lyrics.

"We're really happy with him, but I said it last time and the time before; young, hungry, energy direction.

"Each game he can create six chances just by himself. If he trains how he trains and keeps the braveness in his play the goals will come because he is creating and the team is creating.

"He will become better, he will improve and he is already important, it is nice to see. We are really happy with him."

With his brace on Sunday, Nuñez hit an impressive personal milestone of 100 career goals for club and country. 24 of those strikes have come with Liverpool, while 48 came with Benfica during his time in Portugal. The striker also has 16 for Almeria, eight for Uruguay and four for CA Peñarol.