Darwin Núñez sent a message on his full Premier League debut and it merely added to Liverpool’s problems in this fledgling campaign. The new £64m striker showed Anfield and rival defenders everywhere that he can rise easily to provocation by collecting a straight red card and a three-match ban for head-butting Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen. Núñez lost his head at precisely the moment Liverpool needed him to use it wisely.
Only two games in but four points behind Manchester City already, Liverpool’s start to the season has brought Jürgen Klopp one headache after another. His team’s display against Palace was not high on the list. Liverpool largely dominated against Patrick Vieira’s team and stirred impressively following Núñez’s foolish loss of control, Luis Díaz equalising in spectacular style after Wilfried Zaha’s first-half opener. But with injury problems showing no sign of abating and given the punishing demands of a title challenge the loss of the Uruguay international was galling for Klopp. Núñez is the first Liverpool player to be sent off for violent conduct during his tenure. His manager needs him to learn from the mistake and learn fast.
