On Friday night, Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez went head-to-head with Reds midfielder Alexis Mac Allister as Uruguay took on Argentina in a World Cup qualifier. The reigning world champion was on a 14-match winning-run stretching back to the second game of the tournament in Qatar, but it fell behind early on after a goal from Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo.

While the host dominated the ball, it couldn’t find an equalizer, and in the 87th minute it was caught upfield, with Nicolás De La Cruz setting Núñez through on goal and the Liverpool man speeding away from last defender Nicolás Otamendi before coolly slotting the ball underneath goalkeeper Emi Martínez. The victory was secured and Argentina’s mighty run was over.

After the match, the recently-crowned Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi picked out Núñez for praise on the basis that he’d made Marcelo Bielsa’s gameplan work. “Uruguay is good at rebounding and playing in space on the counterattack,” he told TyC Sports, via DaveOCKOP. “They have excellent players for that like Darwin.”

Ever since Núñez arrived at Liverpool in the summer of 2022, he’s developed a reputation as a menace on the counter. Last season, he ranked second in the Premier League, only behind teammate Mohamed Salah, for shots at the end of counterattacks per 90 minutes (minimum 1,000 played) with 0.4, and this year he occupies the same spot (min. 500 mins) at 0.5 behind Wolves’ Matheus Cunha. Salah is still up there, just two spots down at 0.4, and he leads the league outright for goals at the end of counters (three).

Together, they are furnishing Jürgen Klopp with one of his most potent weapons. Liverpool is fourth in the Premier League for chances created from counters on 10, more than any other side in the top four and all but one team in the top 12. Only Wolves (14), Everton and Aston Villa (both 13) can beat them.

When it comes to counterattacking goals, Liverpool is out on its own, having surged from the bottom of the table to the top with four in the last five games. Salah has scored 75 per cent of those, and Núñez has assisted the same proportion, which shows that they truly are a devastating tag team.

Lionel Messi has praised a Liverpool star (Image: Getty Images)

Against Brighton, Mac Allister won the ball on the halfway line and shifted it quickly into Dominik Szoboszlai, who found Luis Díaz in the final third. Díaz then moved it onto Núñez, who laid it off for the arriving Salah to sidefoot it home.

After the international break against Everton, Mac Allister launched the counter again by threading a pass to Núñez following a stoppage-time Toffees corner, and the number nine ran two-thirds of the length of the pitch before teeing up Salah for an easy finish.

Liverpool then netted a counterattacking double a week later versus Nottingham Forest, with Mac Allister (the instigator for a third time) releasing Salah after a tackle midway through his own half to fashion a three-on-two situation. Salah fed Núñez, whose early shot broke kindly for Diogo Jota to score.

Later, after a Forest long throw was cleared, Szoboszlai launched it downfield, and after a catastrophic mix-up between Harry Toffolo and goalkeeper Matt Turner, Salah was able to sidefoot the ball into an unguarded net.

The Reds finished second only to Manchester United for counterattacking goals last season (seven vs nine) but they’re already more than halfway to matching that total and look like they could claim top spot comfortably with the personnel they have. Messi, then, is absolutely spot on, identifying not only one of Uruguay’s biggest assets, but one of Liverpool’s too.