Jurgen Klopp sends warning to Darwin Nunez after Crystal Palace red card
By Tom Gott
Jurgen Klopp has warned Darwin Nunez that he must learn to control himself after he was sent off for a headbutt during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Monday.
Nunez spent a large part of the game tussling with Palace defender Joachim Andersen and tensions eventually boiled over 57 minutes in as the Liverpool striker pushed his head into Andersen's chin and was swiftly given his marching orders by the referee.
It took a while for things to settle as Nunez refused to leave the pitch in favour of protesting the decision, forcing James Milner to intervene and force the Uruguayan to depart - all while Klopp could be seen urging Nunez to get off the pitch.
“I’ve seen it back, of course it’s a red card,” said the Liverpool manager. “In the game, I could not see anything, Andersen on the floor and Darwin walking away. Then I saw it, yes it was a red card, wrong reaction.
“He was provoked all the time but, of course, that is not how you should behave. He knows that now himself. I will talk to him; it makes no sense for me to talk too much about it now in public.
“When you see it, it’s absolutely not the reaction you want to see. The challenge from the centre-halves in the Premier League will do that to him. They want to have him, he’s a handful and that’s not a reaction.”
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Despite his initial disappointment, Klopp urged Nunez to learn from the incident to ensure it never happens again.
“There is always a first time,” said Klopp. “But now he has another ‘pre-season'. I don’t know exactly how long he will be suspended. So we will use it for physical work. Not as punishment, just to make him even stronger and that is what we will try.”