Paul Merson was left fuming at one Liverpool player’s ’embarrassing’ antics during the first half of their Champions League against Real Madrid.
The two clubs have met eight times over the past decade, and that familiarity appeared to breed some contempt in the early exchanges at Anfield tonight.
Prior to a corner kick for the Reds, Darwin Nunez and Raul Asencio were embroiled in a shoving match with one another which saw the visiting defender lashing out at the Uruguayan and sending him to the turf, with both players duly booked by referee Francois Letexier.
Speaking on Soccer Special for Sky Sports (20:13), Merson was apoplectic at Nunez for the manner in which he went to ground after being cauhgt by Asencio.
The pundit fumed: “Nunez has gone down like he has been hit but he hasn’t. It’s embarrassing. He’s not been touched. Does he not know there are cameras? Embarrassing.”
Maybe the reaction from the Liverpool striker was a little dramatic, but it certainly appeared as though he was caught by Asencio, who maintained the running battle for long enough for it to be more than just a reactionary act.
One thing which was very pleasing to see was how Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah rushed over to the Uruguayan to protect him when several Real Madrid players had been surrounding him while was on the ground.
The 25-year-old had an eventful first half as, aside from that tangle with Asencio, he forced a superb save from Thibaut Courtois with a close-range effort and also narrowly missed the target with an improvised header, along with providing some valuable link-up play.
The visitors certainly seem to have been rattled by Nunez’s physicality, and hopefully he can make them pay with a goal in the second half on a grand occasion at Anfield!
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