Nunez’s red, Fabinho’s struggles, and the questions Liverpool have so far handed Jurgen Klopp

@TomCunningham75

Oh, Darwin. I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed, is the line that Jurgen Klopp should dish out tonight to what will no doubt be a frustrated Nunez. It’s the true definition of a head in hands moment; an indefensible moment of madness from our new Uruguayan so much to emulate the fire of Luis Suarez that he can only muster the ugly side of what that passion brings.

Something tells me that the Nunez headbutt felt like a shot to the heart for most Liverpool fans rather than Joachim Anderson, who, like most would, made the most of it. Anfield came to see their new hero in action. Come the second-half, however, they would have been left with slight distaste in their mouths – and not from their half-time pie.

It is worth noting, however, that Nunez is young, and new to the Premier League. Mistakes will happen, just hopefully not in this nature again. I, for one, hope that many realise mistakes are possible; losses of temper do happen, and we don’t base our opinion of our new man on one admittedly stupid moment.

My main takeaway is not an opinion on Nunez, though. Instead, it regards Fabinho, and what is a pretty uncomfortable conversation. At his best, the ‘lighthouse’ in our midfield is exactly that. He is dominant, almost unstoppable, on and off the ball. Yet, whilst silverware provided cover for a dip in form after an exhaustingly long campaign at the end of last season, just two games into the current one, and it’s hard to find excuses. Fabinho has been worryingly poor.

For Wilfred Zaha’s goal, there is a lot of blame for a number of players involved, but the way in which Eberechi Eze breezed past Fabinho is a concern considering the heights that the Liverpool man has shown in the past. It raises huge questions for Klopp, too. Does he mark this down as a poor start for the midfielder? Or does he begin to investigate if this is more than a blip? Only time will tell.

Now, whilst I don’t think we should jump to conclusions just yet after two games involving a squad with an unfathomable amount of injuries at this stage of the campaign, I do believe that this team will have more blips than in the past. After all, it is no longer filled with finished articles, especially with the current absentees.

The likes of Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz, who were both excellent against Palace at times, are on the ascendancy, and not yet at the true peak of their powers. We no longer have a telepathic connection built on experience between Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane, which is the same when it comes to the front three. Simply put, we are in transition slightly here, as frustrating as it sounds.

One more reminder, too, that we are only two games into the season, and Liverpool could quite easily click back into gear and throw any potential points that this article has raised into the bin, but Klopp and co must make sure that a concern doesn’t turn into a worrying raising of far too many questions.

BY TOM CUNNINGHAM