After Darwin Nunez was dismissed during a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Monday, Liverpool rallied with 10 men to avoid suffering its first Premier League loss in front of supporters at Anfield since 2017.
After Wilfried Zaha gave Palace the lead in the first half, Luis Diaz’s spectacular goal gave the Reds a point. Liverpool is four points behind league leaders Manchester City after only two games, and their new 75 million euro (USD 77 million) striker is primarily to blame.
Nunez had scored in his first two games against City in the Community Shield and a last-weekend 2-2 tie against Fulham while on the bench to save a point.
The Uruguayan’s headbutt on Joachim Andersen, though, gave his team a difficult task in the game and a growing distance to make up in the championship chase shortly before the hour mark.
When questioned whether Nunez had let his teammates down, Jurgen Klopp said, “He knows that now himself.”
“It was a red card, of course. Although he was irritated, he shouldn’t have acted that way.”
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Thanks to Diaz’s excellent equalizer, Liverpool partially recovered from their deficit. Klopp stated he was satisfied with how the 10 players responded after a tough week brought on by an early-season injury problem.
In addition to Joe Gomez, others injured were Thiago Alcantara, Ibrahima Konate, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, and Ibrahima Konate.
Nat Phillips was compelled to play center defense for the first time since the last day of the 2020–21 season since Klopp was out of choices to restock his offense late in the game.
The phrase “Witch in the building.”
“Pride is the actual sensation I’m experiencing right now,” continued Klopp. “It was amazing given the week of preparation we had. Whenever someone else had difficulty, it seemed like a witch was present in the building.”
On the season’s opening weekend, Klopp had criticized his team for a poor start that lost them two points against newly promoted Fulham.
Liverpool sprang into the scene but could not convert their early domination into goals.
Mohamed Salah, Nunez, and James Milner all missed clear-cut opportunities to score, while Andersen stopped Harvey Elliott’s goal-bound attempt.
Even though Palace had spent little of the first half-hour in the opposition’s half, Patrick Vieira’s gameplan was excellent for the first goal.
For Zaha to avoid the offside trap and curl past Alisson Becker into the far corner, Eberechi Eze had to escape the Liverpool press.
Nunez missed an excellent opportunity as the ball bounced back against the post, depriving Liverpool of a chance to tie the score before halftime.
In minute 57, he attacked Andersen with a headbutt, capping off his dreadful home debut and causing him to miss the following matches against Manchester United, Bournemouth, and Newcastle.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Liverpool refused to give up their famed home undefeated record on either side of the behind-closed-doors period of coronavirus restrictions.
On 61 minutes, Diaz spearheaded the comeback with a brilliant solo run and arrowed finish into the far corner to tie the score.
The red card did not hinder Palace’s strategy to sit back and counterattack, and it almost succeeded.
When Cheick Doucoure’s cross was sent 12 minutes from time, Zaha should have scored to seal the victory. However, he struck the post instead.
