VAR made a big mistake in Liverpool 2-2 Man United, Michael Oliver got it wrong - opinion

01/05/2025 03:15 PM

Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Anfield certainly produced a fair few surprises.

Many expected Ruben Amorim's side to be steamrolled at Anfield, Liverpool are in superb goalscoring form and Man United have been struggling of late.

However, led by Bruno Fernandes, the away side showed a ton of quality on the ball, able to match Arne Slot's team for long periods of the game.

Liverpool were dominant for spells, but there's arguably no team in world football who wouldn't concede chances at Anfield.

United were superb by their recent standards, and even had a remarkable chance to win the game late on via Harry Maguire, providing that Joshua Zirkzee was onside in the build up.

Darwin Nunez deserved a red card for ugly challenge on Matthijs de Ligt

That being said, there was a slightly less savoury moment from one of Liverpool's substitutes in the second half, Darwin Nunez.

Nunez replaced Luis Diaz in the 60th minute, a change that Slot has often made this season.

READ MORE: Paul Scholes proven completely wrong as 'unbelievable' Man United player shines against Liverpool

And in the 77th minute of the game, Nunez made an extremely rash challenge on United defender Mathijs de Ligt when competing for a ball in the air.

Nunez received a yellow card courtesy of Michael Oliver, but it was quite unfathomable that VAR didn't then ask the referee to take a second look.

Nunez wasn't looking at the ball and led into De Ligt with his arm with serious momentum, a challenge that left the Dutchman in a heap on the turf.

Nunez slammed for ‘horrible’ moment against Manchester United

Pundit Pat Nevin was watching the game for BBC Radio 5 Live and shared similar sentiments, saying Nunez was 'staggeringly fortunate' to stay on the pitch.

Nevin said: "Definite yellow for Darwin Nunez. To be honest, I think Nunez is staggeringly fortunate there.

"That’s absolutely horrible, straight in on the player, not looking at the ball. Matthijs de Ligt saved him by getting up so quickly."

In his 80 appearances in the Premier League, Nunez has received just one red card, in addition to 15 yellows.

The Uruguay international was actually sent off on his home debut for Liverpool after being deemed to have headbutted Joachim Andersen in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

On a more positive note, United fans were amazed by Leny Yoro when he came on against Liverpool, who actually timed a superb tackle on Nunez to deny the striker a big chance.