Nunez has learned his lesson after sending off
JURGEN KLOPP is ready to throw Darwin Nunez straight into the white- hot atmosphere of the Merseyside derby in his first game back from suspension.
The Liverpool manager is confident there will no repeat of the loss of cool which saw Nunez sent off for headbutting Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen.
The Uruguayan has served a three-game ban for that embarrassing red card but the meeting with bitter rivals Everton offers an incredible test of his temperament, with Blues defender James Tarkowski admitting he will not hold back.
But Klopp argued that even though Nunez can be emotional he has already learned the derby is a game where staying calm is key.
“Will it never happen again? I don’t know,” admitted Klopp. “But I am pretty sure nothing will happen in the next game.
“He is a wonderful young man, honestly, but he has emotions as well, so he made a mistake.
“But we didn’t speak to him for the full 15 days (of his ban) about it, telling him, ‘You have to calm down.’ Of course we told him, not only now but now especially (in the derby).
“I think Luis Suarez told him. That will happen but it happens to others as well, that’s how it is, you just have to ignore it and use it.”
Klopp believes the best way to use it is to make the opposition pay.
“Our ideas and how we want to think in these situations is that we pay back with football – and if Darwin plays he has to be ready for these things,” added the Reds boss.
“But when a player is talking to you a lot or is really physical then he is not in his own game, and you can use these kind of moments as well.”