It was a great assist in the end, but it looked more awkward than it should be. He ran onto the ball which was weighted perfectly and should be in total control but ended up almost falling over... like a donkey...
This actually shows how little is generally known about football in places like this. Nunez was
readying himself to take a shot. That's why he did those many little steps just prior to making the pass. And that is always what
good strikers do. He was readying himself to take a shot and because of that he
attracted goalkeepers' and the other defenders' attention. And then at the last moment he realized that
the pass is actually a much better option. And he delivered that pass at precisely the right time by breaking his shooting stride/momentum. And
that's why that was such a relatively easy tap-in goal for Salah who had half the net wide open.
Actually, that was
the perfect play by Nunez. He must threaten the shot to attract attention and open good passing opportunities. That was the perfect play. And the fact he made that pass shows that he
can balance both of those things (shooting and passing) and make right decisions at the right time. Not many strikers can do that. That's what makes Nunez great. That was a key assist that he created in a big game, and late in the second half, that delivered 1 point to Liverpool and 2 points away from Liverpool's direct rivals. That's why it is good to have him on the pitch.
From what I remember in the game, that was also pretty much
the only opportunity and
the only through ball Nunez had in this game. And he executed that opportunity perfectly. In football it is
extremely valued when you have a striker that can do nothing for much of the game, or concern himself even with defending, but then when he does get that one opportunity at some point say late in the second half
that he remains as clinical as he always is. In the game of football
T H A T has always been seen as extremely valuable and a sign of great, great strikers.
I understand that there are many Americans around here. And I think that hockey is a game popular in North America. This what Nunez did in that play is basically the same as when a good hockey player
threatens a big slapshot only to end up
faking it in order to make a quick through pass for a
tap in goal. What you should keep in mind is that a good player
must threaten a big slapshot
to see whether any passing opportunities will materialize themselves. It is the act of readying himself for the slapshot that opens up such opportunities. And such opportunities can materialize themselves very late so that a hockey player must break that stride very late. That's what good hockey players would do. And that's also exactly the same as what good football players would do, as you can see in that great, great play by Darwin Nunez.
