Defender Van Dijk says Darwin Nunez must learn to ‘discipline himself’

Published 16/08/2022 11:58

London, UK- Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk said, on Tuesday, that Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez, his teammate, must learn to “control himself” after receiving a red card during the Reds’ 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace in the English Premier League.

Nunez, 23, arrived at Anfield in July from Benfica and was sent off in Monday’s match against Palace after hitting defender Joachim Andersen’s head. In total, the Uruguayan will still have three matches suspended: against Manchester United, Bournemouth and Newcastle.

Shortly after the red card, striker Luis Diaz scored the equalizer for Liverpool after Crystal Palace opened the scoring in the first half through Wilfried Saha.

“We support him and he knows this should not happen again. We hope he will take that into account,” Van Dijkl said. “He has to control himself. He has to know that these things happen, especially in the Premier League.”

“This will be a lesson and we hope it will not happen again,” the defender added.

After the first two rounds of the Premier League, Liverpool are still without a win and have two points with a draw, four points behind their main rival in recent seasons, Manchester City.

Nunez’s absence from the upcoming matches adds to a long list of absences due to injury, and Jurgen Klopp will have difficulty adjusting Liverpool’s attack with the physical problems of Brazilian Roberto Firmino and Portuguese Diogo Jota.