Rio Ferdinand branded Roberto Firmino's reaction "brilliant" after Darwin Nunez's horrific miss in Liverpool's routine 3-0 win over Ajax on Wednesday evening.
The 23-year-old squandered an excellent opportunity to give Liverpool a two-goal lead on the stroke of half-time. A terrific team move ended with Firmino squaring the ball across the face of goal to Nunez, who struck the post when it looked harder to miss than score.
Following Nunez's blunder, Firmino turned around in bemusement, with his confusion at the miss even leading him to look towards the linesman. The Brazilian also threw his arms up in the air and seemed shocked with his team-mate, who has endured a mixed start to life at the Reds since his £85million move from Benfica.
Nunez made amends, however, by netting his second Champions League goal of the season with a terrific header just after the interval. Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott also scored for the Reds as they qualified for the group stages of the Champions League - but need to better Napoli's 4-1 win over them in the reverse fixture to top the group.
Former Manchester United defender Ferdinand delivered his verdict on BT Sport to Nunez's miss, while Peter Crouch also joined in and the duo found the funny side. Crouch began: ''I don’t think Firmino can understand how Liverpool aren’t 2-0 up. It’s a great move and Firmino’s pass is perfect, how Nunez misses that I don’t know.
With Ferdinand also praising Liverpool's slick movement in the build-up, he added: ''Firmino man, his reaction is brilliant. Even Robertson’s reaction says it all, it was a beautiful team move.''
How many goals do you think Nunez will score for Liverpool this season? Let us know in the comments below!
Nunez's strike takes him to six goals from 13 appearances for the Reds so far - three of those having come in the Premier League. The forward has found the net in two out of his last three league appearances having missed the 1-0 reverse at the hands of Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was pleased with his performance and acknowledged him following the game. He gave him a big bear hug, before slapping him on the back three times. It was a sign that not only was the boss delighted with the striker's display, but that he believed this post-match acknowledgement would give his confidence a boost.
After the match, when asked about the striker, Klopp said: "He played a good game, played with a big heart and I like that a lot."
The Reds boss added: "He’s the most angry about it but this is the life of a striker. And then he scores the goal fighting against the world to head it. The boy played a good game."
