Andy Robertson believes Darwin Nunez should not be constantly compared to Erling Haaland.
Both strikers moved to the Premier League for large fees in the summer, with the Reds’ No. 27 scoring six goals for his new club so far, while Norway international Haaland has scored 22 goals.
The 23-year-old scored for Liverpool last night as they defeated Ajax 3-0 in Amsterdam to advance to the Champions League knockout stages, but Robertson believes comparing the two strikers is unfair to his new teammate.
“The only reason they are getting compared is that they play in the same position and moved in the same window,” the Scotsman explained (as quoted by the Independent). “It is not fair on anyone. If it was vice-versa, it would not be fair on Haaland either. So look, they are two incredible players and we are delighted to have Darwin here. He is still young which everyone forgets and in front of goal he has been really clinical.”
The Uruguayan made an immediate impact for Jurgen Klopp’s side, scoring twice and assisting once in his first two competitive appearances.
He was then shown a red card on his Anfield debut for a headbutt on Joachim Andersen, and he missed Liverpool’s games against Manchester United, Bournemouth, and Newcastle.
However, since his return from suspension, the former Benfica man has been extremely impressive, scoring four goals in his last four starts.
The Scotland captain believes that Nunez showed what he’s capable of during the defeat of the Dutch champions but also spoke about the striker’s shocking miss just before halftime.
“He has maybe not played as many minutes with the three-game ban, a couple of injuries and he is still adapting but he is getting there,” the No. 26 added. “Against Ajax, you could really see what his threats are and he caused them a lot of problems and they were already worried about him.
“It is a big miss at the end of the first half but good strikers react. He was really disappointed at half-time but he used that disappointment to his advantage in terms of being angry and wanting to be in front of the goal again and he did not shy away from that and scored an unbelievable header which is what good strikers do. It was good to bounce back, go again and get the goal he needed to help the team.”
It’s great to see that the former Penarol star has finally found his feet at his new club.
His work rate is something that stood out last night and if he continues what he’s doing he’ll be a real hit for the Reds.
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