Rob Edwards admitted that he felt it might be Luton’s day when Darwin Nunez missed a glorious opportunity to give Liverpool the lead in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road.
The match was still goalless with just under 20 minutes to go when the Uruguayan contrived to blaze the ball over the crossbar from four yards out. The offside flag was subsequently raised but it was still a horror moment from the 24-year-old.
Speaking after the match, the Hatters manager felt that the glaring miss was a sign that fortune was destined to smile upon his team.
Edward said in reaction to Nunez’s sitter (via Liverpool World): “You maybe start thinking: ‘Is this going to be our day?’ What was the score at that time? I can’t even remember, it was a bit of a blur then we get a counter-attacking moment and we’re 1-0 up.”
Notwithstanding the offside flag, when Nunez somehow miscued from point-blank range and Liverpool yet to find a way past the home side, it certainly felt at that juncture as if things simply weren’t meant to go our way.
Some might argue it wouldn’t have mattered because of the assistant referee’s decision, but had the Uruguayan found the net, a VAR review would surely have ensued, and it may have found in the Reds’ favour as Mo Salah appeared to be just onside when he nodded the ball down to his teammate.
It wasn’t quite Luton’s day in the end as Luis Diaz plundered a stoppage time equaliser, but even then it felt like two points dropped for the visitors rather than one gained, with Jurgen Klopp’s side failing to make the most of defeats for Arsenal and Aston Villa earlier in the weekend.
Every team in the Premier League will have off-days where even the simple things don’t seem to go right. Liverpool must ensure that those are kept to a minimum if they’re to keep pace with the teams at the summit of the table.