Liverpool were held by Crystal Palace in their first home outing of the season.

Jurgen Klopp’s side found themselves trailing midway through the first half when Wilfried Zaha raced clear of their defence to side-foot home the opener.

Matters worsened for the Reds after the interval as Darwin Nunez received a straight red card for headbutting Joachim Anderson during a confrontation.

But within four minutes, Luis Diaz drew the hosts level with an incredible solo effort which sent the ball flying past Vicente Guaita from all of 25 yards out.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Red mist descends on Nunez

Darwin Nunez had clearly failed to read the script ahead of his Anfield bow.

Liverpool’s prolific summer signing should have made a strong impression in a first outing on home soil. He certainly did that albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Goals may have eluded Nunez on his third appearance in a red shirt but there were plenty of signs for encouragement in front of his adoring new subjects.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the Uruguayan undermined that promising spell.

A red mist descended on Nunez during a penalty-box confrontation with Joachim Andersen as the Crystal Palace defender provoked him sufficiently.

The ensuing headbutt left referee Paul Tierney with little option other than to give the 23-year-old his marching orders for that act of violent conduct.

A three-game ban now awaits Nunez, ruling him out of the trip to Manchester United and back-to-back home games with Bournemouth and Newcastle.

Needlessly rising to the bait handed future opponents a potential pathfinder to limiting his goal scoring threat, and referees a reason to mark his card.

Diaz hits the goal trail in style

If Nunez requires an example of how to banish a frustrating early-season outing, he has a ready-made lead to follow in a fellow South American.

Luis Diaz found himself somewhat overshadowed by the fanfare around the latest addition to Liverpool’s front line and frustrated at Fulham last weekend.

But Jurgen Klopp’s belief that the Colombian would rediscover his Midas touch in front of goal was swiftly repaid within four minutes of Nunez’s dismissal.

Receiving the ball from James Milner on the far left-hand side, he proceeded to weave through five Palace players and unleash a powerful 25-yard strike.

💥 Take a bow, @LuisFDiaz19! pic.twitter.com/CjYNmZG0GY #LFC #LIVCRY

— Liverpool FC news (@ClickLFC) August 15, 2022

Had it occurred in a game of greater significance, Diaz’s superb solo effort would already be lauded as a legitimate Goal of the Season contender.

Yet there was more in the 25-year-old’s locker than that moment of individual brilliance as he regularly raced back into midfield to recover possession.

Nunez’s ineligibility provides Diaz ample opportunity to showcase his talent and remind the Anfield faithful why he became an instant hit in January.

Phillips caught out on comeback

Mounting injuries led Klopp to recently acknowledge that Nat Phillips might be forced to shelve his plans of pursuing regular first-team football elsewhere.

The Bolton-born defender became a cult hero during the 2020/21 campaign by producing steely performances which helped alleviate a centre-back crisis.

Those displays felt like a distant memory in Phillips’ latest Premier League outing, coincidentally facing the same opposition as his last appearance.

He spent most of the first half tangling with Wilfried Zaha as Palace sought to expose the centre-back as Liverpool’s weak link on the counter attack.

More often than not, the Ivory Coast international managed to get the better of his opposite number by working seamlessly in tandem with Eberichi Eze.

Their combination for the visitors’ opener saw Phillips heavily exposed as Zaha raced clear before coolly side-footing past Alisson into The Kop’s net.

It was only Joe Gomez’s introduction, moments after Liverpool’s equaliser, that a sense of order was restored which limited the visitors’ direct attacks.

Klopp’s initial choice to partner Virgil van Dijk clearly failed to match the occasion but, in truth, he had little choice given the dearth of options.