BBC Pundit Slams ‘Absolutely Horrible’ Liverpool Star for Man Utd Incident

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was ‘fortunate’ not to be sent off against Manchester United on Sunday evening, according to Pat Nevin – with the former Chelsea man stating that the Uruguayan’s ‘absolutely horrible’ tackle on Matthijs de Ligt warranted a red card on the Anfield turf.

Nunez was introduced to the fray on the hour, replacing Luis Diaz with the tie being levelled at 1-1 just moments earlier – though the chaotic talisman couldn’t quite fashion an opening for himself to change the tide of the game. Mohamed Salah’s penalty just ten minutes later got Liverpool in front for the first time in the match, and with the Reds looking to finish the game off, they went more direct to try and find Nunez.

Nevin: Nunez ‘Staggeringly Fortunate’ For Yellow Card

The Scot believed Nunez should have been sent off

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez with his hands on his hips

However, in a tussle with De Ligt, the former Benfica man was carded. A long ball saw him deliberately check where the Dutchman was, before hauling his body into the former Bayern Munich man and leaving him on the deck.

Darwin Nunez’s Premier League statistics – Liverpool squad ranking
Stats	Output	Squad rank
Appearances	15	11th
Goals	2	=6th
Assists	2	=4th
Shots Per Game	1.4	7th
Aerial Duels Won Per Game	0.7	=7th
Match rating	6.64	=14th

Nunez was shown a yellow card for his foul, but Nevin believes that the 25-year-old was ‘staggeringly fortunate’ to only receive a yellow card [18:08], being lucky that De Ligt got up so quickly. Nevin said, via BBC Sport:

“Definite yellow for Darwin Nunez. To be honest, I think Nunez is staggeringly fortunate there. That’s absolutely horrible, straight in on the player, not looking at the ball. Matthijs de Ligt saved him by getting up so quickly.”

Nunez has divided opinion since his move to Anfield. Brought in for a fee that could reach £85million, the ex-Almeria star scored 15 goals in his first season at the club in just 42 appearances, which is a respectable tally. However, with just four strikes this season in 24 games – and only two of those coming in the Premier League – he needs to do more to convince Arne Slot that he can be the man for his starting striker spot going forward.

Diaz and Cody Gakpo have both been the men for that position in recent months, and given Diogo Jota has returned to the fold to add to competition, Nunez’s Liverpool future may be beginning to look bleak.