Darwin Núñez is a striker. Strikers are paid to kick the ball into the goal. And Darwin Núñez is bad at kicking the ball into the goal.
You know this even if you've watched him play only a single game. Since joining Liverpool, he's averaged 4.5 shots per game. Heck, you don't even need to watch a whole game -- just tune in for 20 minutes of any random Liverpool match, and chances are you'll see Núñez miss a chance.
It'll probably be a big one, too.
The analytics company Opta defines a "Big Chance" as "a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score, usually in a one-on-one scenario or from very close range when the ball has a clear path to goal and there is low to moderate pressure on the shooter." Despite starting only 19 games last season, Núñez ranked third in the league in missed Big Chances (20). This season, he's all alone in first, with 18 missed.
Liverpool paid €85 million to sign Núñez. Combine that piece of information with all of the above information, and there's really only one conclusion to be made: Liverpool screwed up.
And yet, Liverpool currently have a five-point lead atop the Premier League table. It's late January, and their only loss came in a game that produced a massive refereeing scandal and saw two of their players sent off. How could that be possible with all of that money devoted toward one player who keeps missing the goal?
Well, I'm here to let you in on a dirty little secret: It's not just Núñez. Everyone is bad at kicking the ball into a goal, and by focusing on all of his misses, you're missing something as well: Darwin Núñez might already be one of the best players on the planet.
