Sky Sports pundits agree Liverpool lucky to avoid red card | OneFootball

Sky Sports’ punditry team were in agreement that Darwin Nunez should have been sent off against Brentford, with the referee missing a clear second yellow offence.

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Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was the hero as his team beat Brentford on Saturday, scoring a brace in injury time to give Arne Slot’s side a 2-0 lead.

But it could have been an even more eventful few minutes for the forward, who arguably escaped a clear red card.

Having already been booked for taking his shirt off in the goal celebrations, Nunez committed a late challenge on Brentford’s Nathan Collins. Collins clearly got to the ball first, and Nunez caught the player with his studs on the ankle.

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Yet referee Andy Madley didn’t blow for a foul for the incident, which surprised even Dermot Gallagher.

“Yeah, interesting that the referee didn’t give a free-kick,” Gallagher told Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch. “Not giving a free-kick negated the second yellow card. If he’d given the free-kick it would have been a lot more interesting to see what he may have given.”

Gallagher’s Ref Watch colleagues Stephen Warnock and Sue Smith put it more simply, suggesting Nunez should have seen red.

“You do that, clumsily, and you think you’re on the crest of a wave at the moment with scoring a couple of goals, you could be suspended for a game off the back of doing something so stupid,” Warnock said. “He’s a very, very lucky boy. It should have been a second yellow.”

“Yeah,” Smith agreed. “It should have been. You can see it’s that desire to get back and make a challenge and stop them from clearing the ball, but it’s clumsy, and probably is a second yellow.”

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With Liverpool already winning and only seconds remaining, the potential Nunez red card wouldn’t have affected the outcome of the game. But Nunez will now be available for Saturday’s match against Ipswich Town rather than serving a one-game ban.