While it’s unrealistic to expect even the highest quality chances to be converted every single time, in truth the duo should have generated more goals than they have. Núñez has created five clear-cut (or ‘big’) chances for Salah, which Opta define as those “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.”
Remarkably, the Egyptian has scored all five. Even stranger than that statistical unlikelihood – the average conversion rate is around 39 per cent – is the fact that Salah has teed up eight for Núñez and only one found the net. It was the winner at Newcastle, so it was at least worth a heck of a lot. Their partnership is undoubtedly impressive, but Jürgen Klopp cannot rely solely upon this pairing of players to regularly produce big chances. Aside from Salah, with 16, starts have been shared around almost equally among the other forwards this season; 11 for Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota, 10 for Cody Gakpo and Núñez. The Portuguese striker’s injury means the others will see their numbers rise but the combination of Núñez and Salah isn’t always together.
If you had to guess the Reds’ next best link-up for creating clear-cut chances this season, you might assume it is a combination of forwards which doesn’t have Liverpool’s numbers nine and 11 at either end. Failing that, Trent Alexander-Arnold would surely be the creative end of the next best partnership, right?
Wrong. After Salah to Núñez with eight, and the five that have gone in the opposite direction, we have Harvey Elliott lining up Gakpo for four clear-cut chances. Don’t lie, that wasn’t your guess. The most recent of them occurred in the 4-0 win over LASK on Thursday, with Elliott playing a smart first-time pass to Gakpo on the edge of the box, only for the Dutchman to slice his shot wide of the Anfield Road end goal. None of the other golden opportunities fashioned by this somewhat unlikely duo has been converted either, with the former PSV Eindhoven man hitting the woodwork against Leicester, seeing an effort saved at Bournemouth – though he slotted home the rebound – and firing off target against Luton. It’s a remarkable run of creativity, particularly considering the twosome have only shared 421 minutes of pitch time this season. This means Elliott has created 0.86 clear-cut chances per 90 minutes for Gakpo in 2023/24, better than Salah’s rate in total (0.77) and he’s the club leader this season.
The Netherlands international will likely play up front more now that Jota is out for a while. With Elliott’s ability to find him, should he be in Klopp’s starting XI more often? After all, as the identity of the opponents they have generated good chances against implies, the duo has tended to play against weaker opposition, no doubt aiding their ability to be so creative together. Stoppage time notwithstanding, Elliott and Gakpo have yet to complete a total of 90 Premier League minutes together this term.
Only Salah and Núñez have made more appearances than the young midfielder in 2023/24 but he has carved out something of a role of being an excellent substitute rather than a regular starter. With Liverpool having seven league fixtures in the next 31 days and other cup games to negotiate, chances are both Elliott and Gakpo will start more games together. As they look remarkably capable of unlocking opposition defenses in tandem, the timing couldn’t be much better.
The combination of Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah is threatening to tear up the record books with the potency of their partnership in 2023/24. If the former can maintain his assist rate for the latter, it’s plausible they could set a single-season Premier League record for goals created.
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