Liverpool vs Manchester United was also a face-off between Darwin Núñez and Antony, two big-money summer buys. In both cases, the winner was abundantly clear.
Just two minutes into the second half of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Manchester United on Sunday, Fabinho dinked the ball out to Mohamed Salah on the right side of the area.
Salah looked to drive in a low cross and while Luke Shaw was able to block it, the ball broke favorably for Harvey Elliott.
With his first touch, Elliott steered the ball towards Darwin Núñez, in the center of the goal and six yards out, and he had the simple task of heading home.
Around half an hour later, with Liverpool four goals to the good after strikes from Cody Gakpo and Salah, Núñez bagged his second.
This time, the ball trickled out to Jordan Henderson on the left wing, and the skipper had time to whip in a cross for the Uruguayan, who produced a perfect headed finish.
These were two memorable additions to Núñez’s growing catalog of big-game contributions for Liverpool.
In his very first game of the Reds — the Community Shield against reigning Premier League champion Manchester City — he won a penalty and then scored a game-sealing goal in stoppage time.
In October, he netted away to Arsenal in a five-goal thriller that saw the Reds narrowly beaten, and the following month, he would set up a goal for Salah in a victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
He created another for the Egyptian against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup when the club season resumed just before Christmas.
Last month, in a crucial battle with top-four rivals Newcastle, Núñez lashed home to give Liverpool the lead and, days later, he would open the scoring against Real Madrid.
That game ultimately finished in a 5-2 drubbing for Liverpool, of course, but Núñez’s goal certainly didn’t feel meaningless at the time.
These are the games where a big-money striker (in this case signed for up to $102m/£85m/€96m) is principally judged. The 23-year-old has struggled at times in his first season in England but one area that can’t be questioned is his return in the most important fixtures.
Sunday’s game pitted him against another 2022 import with a virtually identical price tag in Antony, the player, incidentally, to whom Manchester United turned when it became clear that Núñez wanted to join Liverpool (via Goal).
While add-ons could take both deals to $102m, Manchester United paid much more up front for Antony ($99m/£82m/€92m) than Liverpool did for Núñez ($77m/£64m/€72m). The Brazilian currently ranks as the fifth-most expensive player in Premier League history.
But even more than the rest of Manchester United’s sorry bunch, Antony struggled badly at Anfield.
