"I annoyed him" - Joachim Andersen on his battle with Darwin Nunez
Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen has opened up on his battle with Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez.
The 26-year-old niggled away at the Uruguay international at Anfield on Monday night. Nunez eventually lost his cool and decided to headbutt Andersen.
The forward was shown a straight red card as a result. Andersen has given his verdict on the events that took place.
“The whole game, I sat really close to him, I annoyed him a lot and did well against him,” he said, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
“I think that’s why he was angry with me.
“He headbutted me, the first one, at a cross and I told him he shouldn’t do that. I was angry with him. Then he did it again which is, for me, is really stupid. So, it’s a clear red card.”
Anfield Watch Verdict
Andersen certainly won the battle. Premier League defenders will now know that Nunez is very easily rattled.
So, we fully expect the striker to cop a fair bit of attention going forward. Nunez will have to learn how to deal with defenders giving him a hard time, otherwise he will forget about what is important (scoring goals).
Because the 23-year-old received a straight red card, he will miss Liverpool's next three Premier League fixtures.
It would be fair to assume that Nunez's time watching from the sidelines will be quite sobering for him. He would have learnt a massive lesson last Monday night.