A week is a long time in football. Away in Girona, Darwin Nunez struggled considerably. Barely involved, he missed chances and Arne Slot later admitted such woes had played on his mind.

And so it was no surprise when he was benched for Liverpool’s draw at home to Fulham last weekend - especially when also considering the Dutchman’s frequent rotation.

Since Diogo Jota limped off against Chelsea in October, it has been difficult for the Uruguayan leading the Reds’ attack. He scored just twice from 11 appearances as questions about his long-term Anfield future once arose.

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Against the Cottagers when introduced from the bench, Nunez took a step in the right direction to start rebuilding his dwindling confidence. It was he who assisted Jota for Liverpool’s equaliser on the Portuguese’s return following his two-month lay-off.

Jota has often been lauded as the Reds’ most natural finisher in contrast to Nunez’s flailing fortunes, with it not going unnoticed that the Portuguese has outscored his fellow forward this season despite his limited game-time.

But it was Nunez who led the line against Southampton with Jota not considered fully fit. And the 25-year-old was determined to leave his mark.

In truth, like in Spain, he was not involved as much as he would like. But on this occasion he took his chance when it came to end a six-game scoring drought in the process.

When firing one chance high and wide, Southampton supporters wasted no time in taunting Nunez as just a ‘s**t Andy Carroll’. It was not the first time he will be on the receiving end of such treatment and won’t be the last.

But it was clearly playing on the forward’s mind as he raced onto Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deflected, lofted pass in the 24th minute. Through one-on-one, so many times in the past we have seen the striker miss. But not today.

Taking a touch, he powered home into the corner to give his side the lead before cupping his ear and shushing the Southampton fans behind the goal. A man who always runs his socks off and wears his heart on his sleeve, the response with no surprise.

They replied with further Andy Carroll taunts, but were soon deafened by the travelling Liverpool support who ironically joined in themselves.

Despite the narrative on social media at times, Nunez remains a firm fan-favourite amongst match-going supporters. "They are not all, they are some," he wrote on social media, alluding to criticism he continues to face, last week. He knows how they truly feel about him.

Indeed, there will not have been a more popular goalscorer among the supporters who made the 474-mile round-trip to a wet and windy south coast.

After the break, he would switch to the left wing as Jota was introduced down the middle in place of Cody Gakpo. While Nunez might be short on confidence at times, the same cannot be said of the Dutchman.

Although unable to add to his impressive League Cup scoring record at St. Mary’s, it was Gakpo who superbly assisted Harvey Elliott for Liverpool’s second goal. He now has eight goal contributions from his last 11 appearances after hitting an eye-catching run of form.

It may be the form of his Reds career, with his early withdrawal a sign of his growing stature and importance despite his place in this League Cup XI, as Slot stuck to his promise to limit his most-used players’ minutes.

With Nunez now boasting a goal and assist from his last two outings, his head coach will hope that this last week of contrasting fortunes can act as a turning point in the Liverpool record-signing’s season.