Darwin Nunez and Liverpool left to rue and reflect on unwanted first

Jurgen Klopp had no excuses for the Uruguayan’s behaviour, which while being a first under the German’s stewardship could also prove hugely costly in the title race

Jurgen Klopp has seen his Liverpool players win the Premier League and the Champions League, watched them beat Barcelona 4-0 and Manchester United 5-0, but there was something he had never witnessed in his first 383 games as Liverpool manager. That changed on Darwin Nunez’s Anfield bow as, in something that had never happened in a reign that began in 2015, one of his charges was dismissed for violent conduct.

“There is always a first time,” said the German, but his downbeat demeanour showed that this was one he would rather not have happened. Initially, he was not sure how it had: he spotted Joachim Andersen on the Anfield turf and Nunez walking away. It was not until he was shown a replay that he realised the £64m striker had headbutted the Crystal Palace defender. “Yes, it is a red card,” he said. In a weekend when one German manager found fault with refereeing decisions, another did not.

Andersen may have been the agent provocateur, with a shove, but the reality Nunez had attempted a butt with the back of his head seconds earlier meant there was still less mitigation. “It was provocation and definitely the wrong reaction but he will learn off that,” said Klopp. “Unfortunately he has now three games to do that. It is not cool for us. That is not how he should behave.”