Michael Owen believes that Darwin Nunez will not achieve the same level of statistics as Mo Salah unless he alters his playing style.

Michael Owen, the former England striker, has offered his advice to Darwin Nunez, urging the Uruguayan not to focus on scoring wonder goals if he wants to establish himself as an elite striker.

Owen’s comments come after Nunez scored a sensational chip for Liverpool’s opening goal in their 4-1 victory against Brentford in the Premier League.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Owen expressed his admiration for Nunez’s audacious finish, describing it as the best he has seen in a long time. However, he also emphasized that if Nunez wants to score a high number of goals, he should not have such attempts in mind during one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper.

Owen suggested alternative options that Nunez could have taken, such as going around the goalkeeper and calmly slotting the ball into the net. He believes that while Nunez’s goal was incredible, it is not the type of finish that will allow him to reach the goal-scoring heights of players like Mo Salah, who consistently score 30 goals or more in a season.

Nunez’s statistics this season indicate that he is in good form, with an average of 0.98 goals and assists per 90 minutes. This output is higher than that of Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.

However, Owen, alongside fellow pundit Joe Cole, was discussing how players like Nunez, Vlahovic, and Osimhen can elevate their game to compete with the likes of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, and Harry Kane, who have all scored over 100 league goals since the 2019/20 season.

Owen believes that Nunez’s decision to attempt such a unique finish against Brentford is indicative of why he is not yet at the same level as players like Haaland, Mbappe, and Kane. He described Nunez as unconventional and questioned how he came up with the idea of chipping the goalkeeper when there were other more practical options available.

To reach the level of the top strikers, Owen believes that Nunez needs to focus on playing the percentages and taking more calculated chances in order to increase his goal tally.

In conclusion, Owen’s advice to Nunez is clear: while his audacious chip was a remarkable finish, he needs to prioritize practicality and play the percentages if he wants to join the ranks of the elite strikers in the game.