Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has made it clear he was not happy with Darwin Nunez after he lost his head and got himself sent off against Crystal Palace last night.
The Uruguay international, a summer signing from Benfica, clearly headbutted Palace ace Joachim Andersen, and was given a straight red in the 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Things didn’t go as badly as they might have, with Luis Diaz scoring a superb solo goal to equalise for the home side, but Klopp is clearly not impressed with Nunez’s behaviour as he admitted the 23-year-old’s offence was clearly deserving of a sending off.
Speaking after the game, Klopp told Liverpool’s official site: “A little provocation here and there – and definitely the wrong reaction. A clear red card, I cannot deny that.
“Yeah, he will learn from that. Unfortunately, he has now a few games’ time to do so. That’s not cool for us in our specific situation, even less, but that’s how it is.”
He added: “Yeah, of course I will speak with him.
“I came in and I wanted to see the situation; in the game I couldn’t see anything so I didn’t know what happened. I saw Andersen on the floor and Darwin walking away, that was my picture.
“I asked then our guys already and I saw only, ‘OK, red card’. And then I saw it – yes, it is a red card. Wrong reaction in the situation. Andersen wanted that, I would say, and he got it.
“But he made a mistake, Darwin, so of course we will talk about it. But not yet.”
Reds fans will surely be concerned by this uncharacteristic moment of madness from one of their players, with Nunez’s actions not in keeping with how the club’s players have conducted themselves under Klopp.
Despite playing a high-intensity game with plenty of passion, Liverpool have never been a dirty team under their current manager, so it’s a major concern that Nunez has already found himself in a situation like this.
There’s no doubt the young South American is a top talent, but one imagines there might be some alarm bells ringing over his temperament after this surprise red card.