Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer in agreement on 'very erratic' Liverpool star after Aston Villa victory

Alan Shearer believes that Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is constant threat for any opposition - but has to practice becoming more composed in front of goal.

Nunez was on target as the Reds earned a 2-0 win over Aston Villa to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The Uruguay international opened the scoring in the 20th minute when get rounded Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez and fired home.

But Nunez should have increased his tally. He spurned a one-on-one chance in the 32nd minute and headed an Andy Robertson cross wide from close range early in the second period. The centre-forward has been up-and-down since arriving at Anfield for a joint club-record fee of £75 million from Benfica two years ago.

On Match of the Day, host Gary Lineker said: “Darwin Nunez got his goal. He's a handful. A bit erratic but a handful.” To which, Shearer - the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer (260) - replied: “Without doubt, his pace is a great strength and is always going to cause defenders problems.It was a really clever finish but only if you could say that so many times about him because he is very erratic and finishing, at times, is poor.

“On the positive, he never stops getting in there but you have to admire that. He links really well with Mo Salah. He's got 22 (goals) in 73 (appearances) in the Premier League for Liverpool but could and should be a lot more because he misses big chances.

“His movement is excellent, the way he spins but should be putting that (a chance) in the back of the net. He never shies away. He's better when he doesn't have time to think about it. When he has that 3-4 seconds to think about it, he becomes more erratic. He's just got to practice, practice, practice. He will have times when you think 'Oh my goodness, that has improved massively' when he's scoring goals for a month [because] he's very streaky.”