Michael
Liverpool’s stuttering start to the Premier League season continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace following a red card for summer signing Darwin Nunez.
The Reds had already lost ground on likely title rivals Manchester City on the opening day of the campaign, dropping two points as they played out a lively draw at newly promoted Fulham.
And their return to Anfield saw another slip-up that leaves them already four points behind Pep Guardiola’s champions with two games played.
Nat Phillips Liverpool’s fifth-choice centre-back got a first match start as Gomez was only fit enough for an appearance off the bench.
Frustration had been growing having gone behind to Wilfried Zaha’s 32nd-minute goal against the run of play but the way Nunez to reacted to continual provocation by the Palace centre-back was naive at best and idiotic at worst.
The mindless headbutt by Nunez’s on Joachim Andersen, rightly saw Nunez sent off on his league debut at Anfield
A wonderful Luis Diaz solo goal salvaged a point for Jurgen Klopp’s men in the second half, not that it is a result the manager will particularly cherish.
The red’s were guilty of failing to hit the target with big chances late in the game.
Jurgen Klopp when asked if Nunez had let his teammates down “He knows that now himself. Of course it was a red card. He was provoked but that is not how he should behave.”
FULL-TIME: Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace
