(Football news) New Liverpool signing Darwin Nunez had a debut to forget after the striker was sent off for a headbutt on Joachim Andersen as the Reds drew 1-1 against Crystal Palace, getting a single point from both the games they have played so far. Despite Jurgen Klopp’s team dominating the first half an hour, Wilfred Zaha found the back of the net against the run of play in the 32nd minute to give the visitors a lead. Liverpool’s defence, particularly Nat Phillips, who was making his first Premier League start, struggled to deal with Palace’s counter attacks.
Zaha could have scored a second but was let down by his heavy touch, allowing Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson to get to the ball. The Reds had their first reach opportunity in stoppage time before the first half ended when Darwin Nunez’s mistimed shot hit the post. The Uruguayan then cost his team dearly after getting a red card in the 57th minute with perhaps his frustration or inexperience resulting in his team being forced to play with 10 men. However, the hosts responded brilliantly to the setback as Luis Diaz collected the ball from out wide, cut inside beyond three Palace defenders and his curling shot went into the back of the net in the 61st minute.
The goal gave the Anfield crowd much to celebrate about as Diaz’s goal was not just an invaluable equaliser but also showed some degree of fighting spirit from the home side. The Reds went on to push for a winning goal with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho coming close but couldn’t find the breakthrough. Moreover, with Liverpool down to 10 men, Palace had gaps to explore and Zaha was unlucky once again to hit the post. A draw for Liverpool is a big setback yet again and the gap between the Reds and Manchester City is already four points. Jurgen Klopp’s side will hope to get back to winning ways against an out-of-form Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Speaking after the match, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said “The real feeling I have at the moment is I'm proud because everything went against us during the week. It was crazy, it was like there was a witch in the building. Putting in a performance in the circumstances, I'm really proud of that. It's not the start we wanted but that's the least of my problems because it's really tricky at the moment with injuries. We have to use the next week to maybe bring one or two back. We lost Darwin today which doesn't help but Bobby (Firmino) might be ready for next week. It's not a concern, it's just a start."
Crystal Palace manager Darwin Nunez said “There are a lot of teams coming to Liverpool that would be happy with a point, but today we played a really good game collectively and I'm pleased with the point. Overall we kept our organisation and discipline. It's a really tough place to come and perform. We created some really good chances, in a difficult period we stuck together and defended well. It was a really good team performance, I'm really happy with the team."
Also read: Should Manchester United listen to Erik ten Hag and buy Hakim Ziyech?
