Darwin Nunez was on the receiving end of a savage taunt from Brighton fans as Liverpool were held to another draw on Saturday afternoon.
The Reds appeared to have completed a stunning comeback to recover from 2-0 down with just over quarter of an hour played and lead 3-2 with seven minutes remaining at Anfield. Roberto Firmino struck twice and an Adam Webster own-goal midway through the second half gave the hosts the lead, after Leandro Trossard scored a quick-fire double early on.
However, Liverpool hearts were broken in the 83rd minute, when Trossard appeared at the back post to fire past Alisson and level the scores by completing his extraordinary hat-trick. Nunez, signed from Benfica this summer for an initial fee of £64million which could rise to a club-record £85m, had to settle for a spot on the bench before he replaced Thiago in the 89th minute.
However, the 23-year-old was unable to help his side find a much-needed winner - and was instead mocked by the visiting supporters. The travelling Seagulls faithful could be heard chanting "You're just a s*** Andy Carroll" in added time, referencing the former Liverpool striker who had a torrid time on Merseyside following a £35m switch from Newcastle in January 2011.
Nunez has endured a challenging start with the Reds, finding the back of the net just once in the Premier League and serving a three-match ban for a headbutt on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen. Despite scoring for Uruguay over the international break, Jurgen Klopp chose not to start him against Brighton, citing fitness concerns.
Diogo Jota was also benched for the fixture, and ahead of kick-off, Klopp told BT Sport: "Darwin and Diogo came home with little things [from international duty] and the medical department asked me not to start them. That's how it works sometimes. They are probably able to come on, but we have to wait and see."
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Liverpool's draw with Brighton leaves them 11 points behind league-leaders Arsenal, who earned a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Tottenham earlier on Saturday. Joel Matip could not hide his disappointment at the performance and the result, admitting the Reds "have to improve" as their hectic October schedule hits home.
"Absolutely not happy," the defender said post-match. "Not a good performance. Brighton played really well and made our life quite hard. It wasn't our game and it started from the beginning. We have to improve.
"It was better but we are still not happy with our performance, especially at home. We expect more from ourselves." Matip added: "I don't care who is coming, we just have to step up and do better."
