Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez was sent off last night against Crystal Palace but a video reveals all the clashes with centre-back Joachim Andersen before the red card.
Nunez, 23, had a home debut to forget as Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw with Palace in the second game of the season.
The Uruguayan couldn’t control his temper and hit out at Fulham’s Andersen with a headbutt that shocked the stadium and everyone watching at home.
Nunez channelling his inner Zinedine Zidane was not quite what fans had in mind for his home debut.
A moment of madness from Darwin Núñez and he's shown a straight red card! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YAErzuuUKq
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 15, 2022
All the clashes with Andersen
The incident on its own wasn’t an isolated one, so to speak.
Andersen and Nunez had been quietly going at it from the first half which built up over the game.
Andersen, who impressed in the loss to Arsenal last week, attempted to rough up and annoy Nunez by not letting him settle with little pushes and being aggressive whenever the ball came into the Liverpool frontman.
The former Benfica man had started to show signs that enough was enough as he looked more and more annoyed as the game went on – something had to give.
Highlight Darwin Nunez vs Joachim Andersen.
Source: ESPN/PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/yrCOGVJr2y
— Berita Sepakbola Dunia (@gilabola_ina) August 16, 2022
However, the main incident shocked us all as Andersen gave Nunez a slight push as they traded words and as Nunez turned around, he went headfirst into Andersen and was promptly dismissed.
Nunez took the unwanted stat of being the first Liverpool player to receive a straight red card in a Premier League game at Anfield since Alisson against Brighton in November 2019.
It also made him the second player to have been sent off on their Premier League home debut; the other was Joe Cole back in 2010.
He also managed to miss two big chances on the night and now he misses the games against Manchester United, Bournemouth and Newcastle in what was a nightmare home debut.
