Liverpool's £85million record signing Darwin Nunez was sent off in shame on his first Premier League appearance at Anfield.
Nunez headbutted Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen in front of referee Paul Tierney after 57 minutes and manager Jurgen Klopp had no excuses for the Uruguayan who is now banned for three games starting with next Monday’s trip to Manchester United.
‘Of course, it is a red card. He (Nunez) is provoked all the time but that is not how you should behave,’ said Klopp after last night’s dramatic 1-1 draw.
‘Darwin knows himself it is not the reaction you want to see. Centre-halves will do that to him but that is not the reaction.
‘It is not cool for us in that situation. He will learn from it. I will speak to him.’
Nunez had already tangled with Andersen before the Dane pushed him in the back, prompting the 23-year-old striker catch him in the face.
It was the second red card of his career and the first time a Liverpool player had been dismissed for violent conduct during Klopp’s reign.
‘It is a proper butt to the underside of the nose,’ said Gary Neville on television. ‘It was a moment of madness. That is stupidity.’
Skipper-for-the-night James Milner added: ‘He will be disappointed and it is down to us to get around him and rally.’
Liverpool were trailing 1-0 to Wilfried Zaha’s strike when Nunez’s dismissal arrived on his first start for the club, having already scored twice for his new club as a substitute.
Luis Diaz levelled with a stunning shot from outside the box after 61 minutes but a second draw in two games leaves Klopp’s men four points behind leaders Manchester City.
‘I am proud to come back because of the week we’ve had and the injuries, it was like having a witch in the building,’ said Klopp. ‘We did not want only one point but after what happened, we will take it.’
Milner added: ‘It’s not an ideal start but good teams stick together through disappointments. The reaction to going down to 10 men was the most important thing.’
Zaha said after collecting his team’s first point of the season: ‘We are a good team. I am very optimistic about this season especially the way we are playing.’
