The Uruguayan’s spectacular volley, which was his fourth goal of the year, was the game’s high point at Anfield.
Following his crucial contribution in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over West Ham, manager Jurgen Klopp praised the “massive steps” forward Darwin Nunez has already taken this season.
After Jarrod Bowen’s diving header had leveled the score, the Uruguayan international’s fourth goal of the campaign—which pulls him even with Mohamed Salah, who scored the opening penalty—was essential in swinging the game in the hosts’ favor.
The Reds moved into second place in the table thanks to substitute Diogo Jota’s late goal, but it was Nunez’s all-around performance that stood out, with his exquisite volley the game’s most memorable play.
Klopp said,
“He has made massive steps in the last few weeks. He is a threat. You all saw the goal, that was probably pretty good, right? That was really strong
“Incredible. Everybody is looking at me when I talk about the goals but these eyes – I saw it only once – can’t wait to see it properly back.
“He was always available. It’s super-important for us now that we have a ball player: chip the ball (into him), get it on the chest and play from there.
“That’s how we scored the third goal at Wolves, super-important for us. The defensive work he puts in is probably the main difference.
“He always wanted (to do it) but it was less coordinated. Now that looks much better.
“We have found a way to do it around him, Curtis (Jones) and Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) help a lot, how flexible they are in that way. It’s really good, absolutely.”
In the end, the outcome was straightforward, but for considerable stretches, it wasn’t, as tough West Ham consistently offered a threat and excelled at stopping Liverpool’s momentum.
“It was expected. A difficult game; some very good moments in the first half but we were not enough in control to deny them completely.
“I really thought we played good in different phases, lost some balls we shouldn’t have lost, but we scored our goal which was a super counter-attack.
“When they scored, I was not completely surprised. We should have defended it better, that’s clear. The most important is you stay in the game and that’s what we did in the second half.
“We controlled much better and gave them a proper challenge. We really caused them some problems and we scored some super goals.”
As Jesse Lingard now appears to be headed to Saudi Arabia, Moyes has also ruled out the possibility of bringing back the former midfielder, who trained with the team after leaving Nottingham Forest as a free agent in the summer.
“I am quite comfortable, more than relaxed with it,” he added. “We like Jesse a lot, I just don’t know if we need another player in the position.”