Liverpool

Liverpool

Premier League • England

Virgil van Dijk gives verdict on Darwin Nunez red card; says Liverpool hero ‘can be so much better’

Klopp Nunez Liverpool sent off August 2022

Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk insists Darwin Nunez knows his red-mist moment against Crystal Palace cannot happen again after the 10-man Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace.

With an injury list running at nine, the last thing manager Jurgen Klopp or the team needed was another absentee. But that’s exactly what he now has with summer signing Nunez now banned for three games after his Anfield red card.

The 23-year-old was red carded for headbutting Joachim Andersen following a running battle with the centre-back all night. It leaves Klopp currently without a central striker.

There is hope Roberto Firmino will have recovered from a problem which forced him to sit it out against Palace in order to lead the line against Manchester United at Old Trafford next Monday – a match Nunez will miss.

Klopp acknowledged his new signing was provoked and said he would be speaking to the player. The German  was seen urging Nunez to get off the field, but he did not make eye contact as the striker headed for the tunnel.

Still, Liverpool’s new £85m man will not be the victim of finger-pointing from his team-mates.

“Obviously he was disappointed and also probably with himself but it’s a learning curve and obviously we will always back him,” Van Dijk said.

“He’s got the backing from us and he knows it should not happen again and hopefully it will be that way.

“He has to control himself, definitely. I think that’s a separate thing. He has to manage himself, he has to be knowing that these things can happen, especially in the Premier League.

Nunez on a ‘learning curve’

“It will be a learning curve for him and hopefully it will never happen again.”

Liverpool have now conceded the first goal in the last six Premier League games. And Monday night’s draw against Palace marked the second straight match in which the Reds have dropped points. They are now already four behind leaders and champions Manchester City.

Considering the close margins of the title race in recent years, Liverpool cannot afford to drop many more points, but Van Dijk refuses to even consider the implications at this point.

“We’ve played two games so far this season and there’s still a long way to go so anything can happen,” he added.

“That’s been shown over the last years so we’ll focus on ourselves.

“We don’t read what the others from the outside say about us because nobody knows what’s really going on.

“We worked very hard to try and get three points but unfortunately it didn’t happen. And we keep going.

“I think with 10 men we played outstanding. We put them under pressure. Obviously we took a lot of risks because we had to score the equaliser and were hoping to get the winner.

Luis Diaz can ‘be so much better’

“But (playing with 10 men) should not happen. Obviously we’re disappointed to draw and not get the win, for sure.

“It’s funny because we played the Community Shield and won. And everyone was saying loads of other things and now we have drawn twice and people will write us off.

“But that’s the outside world and we concentrate on what we can influence and that’s our performance.”

The highlight of the night for the hosts was Luis Diaz’s brilliant leveller.

“He’s a fantastic player,” Van Dijk said. “It’s obviously something we need and he provided that bit of special action and he can be so much better.

“He’s an incredible player already so we’ll see what the future brings.”

READ MORE: Carragher says Darwin Nunez could miss six weeks after red card; Neville laments ‘moment of madness’