Nunez took a step in right direction for Liverpool - but he's no Erling Haaland

Remember that time when Darwin Nunez upstaged Erling Haaland on one of English football's showpiece occasions?

Seventeen Haaland goals later and the hazy summer's day when Nunez outshone the Norwegian in the Community Shield seems like a figment of the imagination.

It is fair to say the early fortunes of the two big-money attacking signings have differed markedly.

And when we say 'big-money', it is worth remembering the Nunez price tag was a good £30million lumpier than Haaland's.

But the 23-year-old Uruguayan came into this game with as many red cards to his Liverpool name as goals, one of each.

To be fair, this was only his third start, a situation that prompted Jurgen Klopp and his right-hand man Pep Lijnders (there for interpreting purposes) to sit down with the club's record signing on Sunday and offer him some reassurance.

It seemed a bit early in proceedings for the arm-round-the-shoulder routine but maybe it was a sign Nunez has been struggling to adapt to Klopp's and Liverpool's demands.

In fact, Klopp confirmed as much when he spoke ahead of this fixture but still decided to give his £85million forward a crack from the off.

The Liverpool manager even strayed away from his tried-and-trusted formation to accommodate Nunez, who played a little in advance of Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz in a 4-2-3-1 set-up.

And Nunez certainly appeared to enjoy the role, winning the free-kick that allowed Trent Alexander-Arnold to put Liverpool ahead.

Nunez and Liverpool is obviously a work in progress but his runs are consistently intelligent and he has shown in the past that he is a good finisher.

Alas, in the first half of this one-sided contest, he snatched at two great opportunities, hitting both straight at Allan McGregor and a couple of better efforts were also diverted by the Rangers keeper.

But regardless of the number of wasted opportunities against a deeply unambitious Rangers side, this was a step in the right direction for Nunez.

You can forget the comparisons with you-know-who but Nunez and Liverpool will eventually be a good match.

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