There is no point in Liverpool having a quick center-forward like Darwin Nunez if he is behind Mohamed Salah when he receives the ball on the halfway line. They should always want to have him positioned in line with Salah to provide that immediate run.

In the few minutes he has played, Darwin Nunez has always positioned himself further back, dropping to occupy space ahead of Liverpool’s double pivot when Dominic Szoboszlai dropped to help progress the ball out of their own penalty area.

I do not see the benefit of having him drop back because it takes away from what he is good at, attacking in transition.

He will drag a defender back with him, but when Mohamed Salah receives, he only has Luis Diaz all the way on the far side as an immediate target in behind the opposition’s defense.

He is not particularly good at progressing play forward with his back to goal and a defender at his back. His decision-making and pass accuracy haven’t always been his strong suit if he were to beat his man on the turn.

If the run is timed well, he is a lethal weapon in transition to attack because he can beat the majority of defenders in a foot race. More lethal than any other center forward.

I would much rather see him always position himself in line with Salah to immediately turn in on goal. He doesn’t even need a run-up like most forwards would to beat the opposition’s defenders to the ball.

If you are playing against Liverpool and see Nunez drop, you know you can more tightly mark Salah because he likely won’t beat his man one-on-one anymore, but you have to be wary of the immediate pass back to play Salah through.