Klopp to TV 2: – The worst thing a striker can experience

Before this season, Manchester City and Liverpool brought in two of football’s hottest strikers.

There were high expectations for both of them.

– I saw them as fairly good signings. When Liverpool couldn’t get Haaland, they went for the next best thing, says TV 2’s football expert Simen Stamsø-Møller.

Both scored on their Premier League debut, but for Núñez the Liverpool start quickly turned into a nightmare.

A red card in the second league game earned him a three-match ban. So far, the star purchase has scored a staggering six goals in 17 games.

At the same time, Haaland has bagged an incredible 26 goals in 23 games.

– When you spend so much money on a new player, people expect him to deliver from day one. At the same time, the Norwegian (Erling Braut Haaland, editor’s note) started scoring almost the second he set foot on the pitch.

That’s what Jürgen Klopp says to TV 2 the day before the big game against Real Madrid.

– On top of it all, we didn’t play very well. The worst thing a striker can experience is that he enters a new team that does not work. We could still see from the start what a threat Darwin is. We have known that all along, says the German to TV 2.

The numbers that give hope

But if you delve into the matter, it turns out that Núñez has been paid poorly, while Haaland has been paid very well.

In fact, the numbers show that Núñez and Haaland could have been much closer to each other on the list of the Premier League’s top scorers.

A list Haaland tops, while Núñez is in 19th place.

Because there has been no shortage of chances for the Uruguayan. It is at the crucial moment that it has failed.

In the fact box above, you can see that Erling Braut Haaland scores 1.25 goals per 90 minutes, while it is expected that he would score 0.87.

Núñez, on the other hand, scores 0.48 goals per 90 minutes, while he was expected to score 0.73 goals per 90 minutes.

– There is something particularly unresolved. There is a lot of energy, and he has a lot that he wants to get out, but a lot has gone wrong for him in front of goal, says Simen Stamsø-Møller.

– You have a fabulous finisher in Haaland, perhaps the one in the world you would most like to have alone with the goalkeeper. You also have someone who has to work on it a bit, who is not among the world’s best at it, but who is one of the best at getting chances. That is what separates them, says Stamsø-Møller.

TV 2’s expert believes that Haaland’s unreal numbers come from the fact that he is very special.

– Haaland will probably throughout his career score higher than expected goals, because he is not an ordinary footballer. Núñez is probably more common. The very best players deliver higher numbers than what is expected of them. Núñez is probably more on what was expected than Haaland, says Stamsø-Møller.

– A sleeping bear

Although the Uruguayan has not yet lived up to expectations, he has looked fitter in recent weeks.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has also noticed that.

– Now he has been here a little longer, and I don’t think he feels the pressure to convince people as much. He can be more himself, says Klopp.

Against Everton, he followed up with a brilliant goal-scoring pass to Mohamed Salah, while he himself scored a beautiful goal in the weekend’s match against Newcastle.

– He gets into many goal-threatening situations. I don’t think anyone doubts his qualities. Everyone knows that this box can be opened, and for us it is very good, says Klopp.

TV 2’s football expert Simen Stamsø-Møller believes Liverpool supporters have an exciting year ahead.

– In terms of goals, he is a sleeping bear. Despite the fact that he misses a lot and is ridiculed, he tries again and again. It shows a brilliant mentality. It is easy for a new striker to let himself be broken, but he has not done that, says Stamsø-Møller.

– I think this is the start of a great Liverpool future for him. It makes no sense for Liverpool to clap back together after the bad period they have gone through.