“That’s absolutely horrible” - Ex-Chelsea star Pat Nevin slams Liverpool forward over incident during Manchester United draw

Former Chelsea star Pat Nevin has hit out at Darwin Nunez for his challenge on Matthijs de Ligt during Liverpool vs Manchester United on Sunday (January 5). The pundit believes that the striker should have been sent off and was saved by the Dutchman getting up quickly.

Speaking on BBC, Nevin stated that it was a clear yellow card for Nunez and it was a surprise that the referee did not issue a red card. He added that the Liverpool star ran into the Manchester United defender without any intention of going for the ball and said:

“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.”

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett spoke to Football Insider about the incident and said:

“The challenge was reckless by Nunez. The sanction of a yellow card was the correct decision by referee Michael Oliver. It failed to meet the criteria for violent conduct.”

Manchester United surprised Liverpool and took the lead in the second half through Lisandro Martinez. Cody Gakpo and a penalty from Mohamed Salah saw the Reds bounce back to take the lead before Amad Diallo equalized for a 2-2 draw.

Darwin Nunez was sent clear message by Liverpool manager Arne Slot earlier this season

Arne Slot was not happy with Darwin Nunez's off the ball contribution and warned him earlier this season. The manager claimed that the forward needed to do work hard like others and said:

"He needs the same as all the others, work really hard and the goals will come. That's what he did against [AC] Milan, he came in for the team and then as a result of that attackers have goals or assists. It happened with Cody [Gakpo] so if you play for a team like Liverpool you'll get them [goals and assists].

"For me, it's the work you do without the ball. He will get his chance in the near future, we play a lot of games, and he is fitter and fitter and understands day by day what we want from him. But he's in competition with Diogo [Jota] who has done well."

Darwin Nunez has played just 757 minutes in 15 Premier League matches this season. He has scored twice and assisted as many times, while picking up five yellow cards.