Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba surprised Pat Nevin with his reaction to being booked away to Liverpool on Saturday, while speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live (11/12, 15:21).
Referee Stuart Attwell showed a clutch of early cautions in the Merseyside affair as Steven Gerrard returned to Anfield. The Villa Park boss played 710 times for the Reds as a player.
Virgil van Dijk was the first man in Attwell’s book on 13-minutes after the Liverpool centre-half stopped Ollie Watkins advancing. The Villans striker tried to spin the Dutchman on the byline, but Van Dijk settled for conceding a free-kick than let the England forward attack.
Nakamba was the next earning Attwell’s attention on 19-minutes, before Watkins followed suit five-minutes later. The striker emphasised the feisty tone of the opening stages with a nibbling tackle on Fabinho.
Nakamba surprises Nevin with reaction to yellow card vs Liverpool
Nakamba caught Attwell’s eye with a late challenge on Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson for the Aston Villa star’s fourth yellow card of the season.
The 27-year-old has become a key figure at Villa Park since Gerrard replaced Dean Smith at the helm last month. The Liverpool icon has started the Zimbabwe international in all five of his Premier League games in charge so far.
Nakamba has now been cautioned in four of the Aston Villa midfielder’s five outings under Gerrard. He only enjoyed a clean display in defeat to Manchester City earlier this month.
Nakamba’s latest caution came as Liverpool sought to apply lots of early pressure on Aston Villa in search of an opener. Sadio Mane and Henderson worked well together to win the ball off of the £32.5k-a-week enforcer, who reacted rashly to try and respond instantly.
Yet Nakamba seemed shocked when Atwell brandished a yellow card, to Nevin’s surprise.
“Nakamba has his arms out to ask why he has got that yellow. I’ll tell you why,” Nevin said. “That is the clearest yellow card that you will see in a month of Sundays.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
