Robbie Fowler has expressed his shock at Darwin Nunez’s red card incident against Crystal Palace.
In conversation with The Athletic, Fowler spoke about Nunez. The Liverpool legend said he’d be ‘amazed’ if the striker had never experienced the kind of physicality Joachim Andersen offered. Instead, Fowler suggested that the occasion had simply got to Nunez.
“I was really surprised what Darwin did, given his background. Having played in Uruguay, Spain and Portugal, I’d be amazed if defenders hadn’t done that to him before. I don’t think it was a case of experiencing something new and reacting, it was more that he got caught up in all the furore of making his Anfield debut,” said the 47-year-old.
“He’d been given a start after a couple of appearances off the bench and was desperate to impress. Things hadn’t been going his way and he lost his head. In the end, his big night was ruined. He’s got some making up to do and he has to learn from it because other defenders will try to wind him up in a similar fashion every week.”
Taking a leaf out of God’s book
For Nunez, Fowler is certainly somebody worth listening to. The Scouser scored 183 goals for The Reds and cemented himself as truly one of the all-time greats.
Not only that, but he also made a handy habit of winding-up defenders. If you’re the one doing the winding up, you’re unlikely to react in the way Nunez did on Andersen.
As the Liverpool players rally around him, perhaps a word or two of advice from the likes of Fowler wouldn’t go amiss.
Suarez comes to Nunez’s aid
Nunez is also lucky that he has the advice of Luis Suarez to count on. Speaking to Telemundo yesterday, Suarez said that he had called his countryman after the incident.
“I talked to him because he is just starting out, and I wanted to make him aware that from now on [opponents] will be seeking him out twice or three times more often,” said the former Liverpool striker.
“Even more so in England. He’s hearing this from an idiot who made mistakes and suffered for them, but falling down and getting up again made me stronger.”
Sage advice from a man who, despite his controversies, became an incredible player for The Reds.
With this kind of advice around him, as well as that of Jurgen Klopp, we’ll hopefully never see this side of Nunez again.
The 23-year-old has reportedly impressed his new teammates with his ‘respectful’ attitude in training. If he can take a bit more of that into matchdays, then he’ll be absolutely fine.
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