Can’t do That

Darwin Nunez shows a lot of promise, but this is a side of him that I hope we won’t ever see again. In a way, I am reminded of a certain other Liverpool Uruguayan forward – the one who liked to bite people – as an example of a player who was both terrific and controversial. But under Klopp, and generally for Liverpool, this kind of behavior is simply not acceptable. For a marquee sign-up like Nunez, we can and should expect better. Still, he is young, and this may simply be his “welcome to the premier league” party, and if so, it may be better that it occurs early in his career.

Sadly, it cost the Reds two more points against a far inferior team.

Even with ten men, Liverpool dominated and was often close to scoring again. It was not to be, though, and Guata watched happily while several balls whistled past his posts. Nunez himself got as close as one can in the first half, hitting the post, but it was Wilfried Zaha – who else? – who put Palace up on the scoreboard, and in the end it was enough for them to secure a draw.

It took a monumental stroke of brilliance a few minutes after the (justified) removal of Nunez for Luis Diaz to grab the equalizer, in an absolute worldie of a goal, one that will be an instant contender for goal of the season. There was simply not stopping him as he carved through the entire Palace defense, eventually freeing himself up for a gorgeous hit from the edge of the box. This time it flew on the right side of the post, and the Reds had the game back in their grasp. With an otherwise superb performance, Diaz was easily the man-of-the-match.

Nat Phillips opened in the back, and arguably got caught in two minds for Zaha’s goal, but still put in a decent shift which also served to illustrate the deep injury problem Liverpool is facing right now. With City and the Gunners coming strong out of the gate, it’s going to take some doing to recover from this inauspicious start to the new season. The physiotherapy department has their hands full, and we’re barely into August.

Is there a doctor in the house?

United comes next, and if Ten Hag’s men somehow manage to recover at the Reds’ expense, then we may be headed towards our winter of discontent. Let’s hope that instead, the lads get inspired to restart the sputtering engine. In this race, there isn’t that much ground that can be given.