Darwin Nunez was sent off on his home debut for Liverpool, but Luis Diaz scored a spectacular goal to earn a point for the 10-man hosts in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
After Wilfried Zaha’s first-half opener and Nunez’s dismissal just before the hour, Jurgen Klopp’s team appeared to be heading for defeat.
Diaz’s superb individual effort, however, brought his team level before the Premier League runners-up set about trying to find a winner, but to no avail.
It’s another early season setback for Liverpool, who are already four points behind champions Manchester City in the title race, but, as with their opening draw against Fulham, it may feel like a point gained for Klopp in the circumstances.
Liverpool started brightly, with Nunez mishitting a volley at the far post, while Mohamed Salah came close to scoring from Trent Alexander-pull Arnold’s back, but his side-footed attempt whizzed just wide of the near post.
After absorbing so much at the other end, Palace took the lead in the 33rd minute when Eberechi Eze got away from Fabinho and played Zaha in on goal, with the Ivory Coast international firing past Alisson into the bottom-right corner.
Just before halftime, Liverpool thought they had equalized when Harvey Elliott’s chip found Nunez down the left side of the penalty area, but his deflected shot came back off the post.
Nunez’s night got worse when he reacted to being shoved by Joachim Andersen by pushing his head into the Dane, prompting referee Paul Tierney to show the Liverpool striker a red card.
The atmosphere at Anfield quickly improved, however, as Diaz dribbled inside several Palace defenders before unleashing a rocket of a shot past Vicente Guaita’s despairing dive to his left.
Despite having fewer players, the hosts attempted to find a winner, while Palace could have won it when Zaha missed a great chance at the far post, but both were forced to settle for a point.
What does it imply? Life after Mane may require some adjustment.
Sadio Mane used to have a real knack for scoring against Crystal Palace, hitting 10 against them in his Premier League career, but his replacement at Anfield struggled against the Eagles.
Nunez had five shots in 57 minutes but failed to hit the target once, becoming only the second Liverpool player to be sent off on his first Premier League appearance at Anfield, following Joe Cole against Arsenal on August 15, 2010.
The former Benfica man will now miss the next few games for his new club, who will hope to have Roberto Firmino back for the trip to Manchester United next week after he missed this one as a precaution.
Right side assurance
While they were blunt in terms of scoring, Liverpool did create, particularly down their right flank.
Klopp’s team had 17 shots in the first half, with Alexander-Arnold and Salah each making five crucial passes.
Liverpool falls behind again after a slow start.
Liverpool, a team that has built a reputation for starting games quickly, has become accustomed to having to come from behind.
Zaha’s goal was the Reds’ sixth league goal in a row, though they did not lose any of them between the end of last season and the start of this one (W3 D3).
Important Opta Facts
- Liverpool have failed to win their first two Premier League games for the fifth time, and for the first time since 2012-13. The last time the Reds won the Premier League after losing their first two games in a season was in 1981-82.
- This was the first time Liverpool avoided defeat in a Premier League game after having a player sent off while trailing since March 2016, when they beat Crystal Palace 2-1 after James Milner was sent off.
- Liverpool is unbeaten in their last 21 Premier League games (W16 D5), the competition’s longest current streak. They have also scored at least once in each of these 21 games, which is also the longest active streak.
- Zaha became the first Crystal Palace player to score in two Premier League games against Liverpool, both at Anfield (also May 2015).
What comes next?
Liverpool will play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday, while Palace will host Aston Villa on Saturday.