Darwin Nunez set an unwanted Premier League record in Liverpool’s 4-1 thumping of Chelsea, hitting the woodwork an unprecented four times.
Nunez was clearly operating under a shoot-on-sight instruction as he peppered Djordje Petrovic’s goal from the first minute until the last, ending the game with 11 shots. Chelsea, for comparison, managed just four across the entire 90 minutes.
The Uruguay international failed to find the back of the net, however, even seeing a penalty crash back off the post in first-half stoppage time.
As noted by Opta, Nunez has now become the first player since records began in 2003 to hit the woodwork four times in a single Premier League game.
“[Nunez] had an insane first half, impossible to defend, really good,” manager Jurgen Klopp said after the match. “It’s the first time since we counted that a player hit woodwork four times in a game and he missed a penalty.
“He was really disappointed with himself about missing the penalty, but he is a handful. It was really hard for him. You could see at half-time that he was upset with himself – he missed a header too in the second half, but then he created a goal.
“It’s crazy that he creates so many. We scored four goals, so who cares about the ones he didn’t score? He will score goals, it will come. He is in outstanding shape, still a bit unlucky, so it’s all fine.”
Nunez’s electric performance also contributed to an unwanted club record for Chelsea. The Blues allowed 13 shots on target against Liverpool – never before had they faced such a tally in the Premier League.
Liverpool’s total of 28 efforts on goal also tied the record for most shots against Chelsea in a league game since records began.
