Amara Nallo made just his second competitive appearance for Liverpool tonight, but just like his debut, it was all too brief.
The 18-year-old had only four minutes on the pitch when he came on against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last January before being sent off, and he was subjected to a similar fate on Wednesday as Crystal Palace dumped the Reds out of the Carabao Cup.
He lasted slightly longer this time, being introduced in the 67th minute but getting his marching orders on 79 minutes for a professional foul on Justin Devenny.
Van Dijk goes to console Nallo after red card
It was another blow for Nallo so early in his footballing career, and the Liverpool captain went in pursuit of the teenager to provide some consoling words after the red card.
Stephen Warnock observed on BBC Radio 5 Live: “What a horrible feeling for the youngster, Amara Nallo. There is nothing worse than knowing you have been sent off on your debut. Then there is the next game, you make an error and it leads to another sending off.
“I have just seen Virgil van Dijk walk down the tunnel. You have to try pick the youngster up.”
Another learning experince for Nallo
Nallo now has the unenviable record of playing 16 senior minutes for Liverpool and being sent off twice, in both instances paying the price for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
The red card tonight didn’t exactly alter the course of the game – Palace were already cruising at 2-0 when the 18-year-old received his marching orders – but it’ll be deeply disappointing for the defender on a personal level that his night ended prematurely.
If Van Dijk made a beeline for the teenager to console him – as appeared to be the case – it reflects well on the Reds captain to put an arm around the shoulder of a young player who’s already had a couple of tough moments so early in his LFC career.
For Nallo, it’s now a matter of learning from this experience and having the mental fortitude to recover from such a setback. He’s clearly a talented young footballer if he’s played for Liverpool’s first team, so hopefully his quality can shine through and he’ll put this night behind him quickly.
When the boat is taking in water, expect the unexpected. Slot just expects his players to do things by themselves. Creativity should be drilled and ends up effectively. Rio was trying things all by himself instead of using teammates. He has no physique like Doku. Be realistic.
You cannot blame the young players in the palace defeat, in fact they were thrown under the bus by the manager. It’s not going to do anything for their confidence, especially Rio who’s the best young player we’ve had in years. What you can blame though is the transfer strategy. We have van dijk who is 34 and not the player he once was. We have konate who’s head has been turned, he’s joining Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer. We Gomez who hardly plays because he’s injury prone, and that’s it .
Going into a season with lots of games, premier league champions league, league cup, fa cup, then those players have possible international fixtures as well. Just three senior experienced central defenders, forget about the injured Leoni who’s just 18.
What kind transfer policy spends 450 million and leaves itself short of central defender’s. The excuses are we tried to sign Marc guehi a day before the transfer window closes, leaving palace no time to find a replacement. Richard Hughes should be sacked, if slot does get sacked and Richard Hughes is still sporting director then why hasn’t he been sacked. Are we going to get more third rate players from Bournemouth, or even worse the Bournemouth manager, who’s achieved nothing at the top. If van dijk gets injured, and at 34 he probably will, then those who think it’s bad enough you ain’t seen nothing yet. 450 million and centre back, you couldn’t make it up.