'I'm not sure' - Alan Shearer names Darwin Nunez problem Liverpool will never be able to fix

Alan Shearer has admitted to being confused by Darwin Nunez's finishing in front of goal after the forward's all-action performance in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

Nunez scored his third goal of the season on Saturday night at Anfield when he was on hand to apply the finishing touch to a swift Reds counter-attack as he arrowed an effort past Emi Martinez from an acute angle.

However, the Uruguayan international was unable to add to his tally later on as he spooned one effort into the Kop before heading Andy Robertson's cross wide of the goal. In total, Nunez had six efforts at goal before being replaced by Cody Gakpo midway through the second half.

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But his failure to convert didn't cost his side as Liverpool wrapped up the points with six minutes of normal time remaining when Mohamed Salah finished coolly past Martinez.

Shearer, who scored 260 Premier League goals across spells with Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle, was full of praise for Liverpool's No.9 but admitted it is unlikely he will ever harbour a ruthless streak in front of goal.

"Darwin Nunez got his goal, didn't he? He's a handful, a bit erratic but a handful," Match of the Day host Gary Lineker asked Shearer on Saturday night.

"Without doubt, his pace is a great strength and he's always going to cause defenders problems," replied Shearer. "This is a really clever finish. Now, if only you could say that so many other times about him because he's very erratic and his finishing at times is poor, and that will frustrate some.

"On the positive side, he never, ever stops getting in there and you have to admire that. He links up really, really well with Mo Salah.

"He's got 22 goals in 73 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool but it could, and should, be a whole lot more because he does miss big chances, like this one.

"Watch his movement here; his movement is excellent, the way he spins and gets himself in there to create that space for him. But he should have been putting that in the back of the net.

"I just think he's better when he doesn't have time to think about it and it happens naturally. When he has that three or four seconds to think about it, he becomes more erratic."

Asked by Micah Richards how Nunez could go about improving his finishing, Shearer said: "You've got to practice, practice, practice.

"But I'm not sure that's going to get better. He will have times where you think that he's improved massively and he's scoring goals for a month, very streaky.

"But in terms of Liverpool in forward positions, they've got Salah, Gakpo, Jota, Diaz and Nunez - Salah's the one that's guaranteed and you've got two of the others who are all going to be fighting from the other four to be playing. In those positions, they are incredibly strong."

Nunez found himself playing second fiddle to Diogo Jota in the early months of the season and, as a result, has only started seven of the Reds' 17 games across all competitions.

However, the Uruguayan has been handed more opportunities by Slot in the wake of Jota's absence, starting the last three Premier League games against Villa, Brighton and Arsenal.