‘What has Darwin Nunez stopped for?!’ - Misfiring Liverpool forward leaves fans baffled after bizarrely pausing to appeal for penalty despite having an open shot at Man Utd’s goal

Nunez had a chance to score in the 75th minute of Liverpool's goalless draw with United on Sunday, but he hesitated as he appealed to referee Michael Oliver for a penalty. The ball had bounced off the striker into the path of Luis Diaz, whose effort was blocked by Diogo Dalot. Instead of chasing the rebound, Nunez stopped to appeal for a foul of Diaz by the desperate United defenders.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher couldn't believe what Nunez had done. While commentating on the match for Sky Sports he exclaimed: "What's Nunez stopped for? Just run across and put it into an empty net!"

Co-commentator Gary Neville replied: "He [Nunez] thinks it's a penalty but I don't think it is. I thought they [Dalot and Sofyan Amrabat] flew across and blocked."

Both Liverpool and United put in poor performances at Anfield, but Liverpool fans will feel an in-form Nunez might have decided to play on. The Uruguayan striker has scored just four goals in 16 league appearances this season and has failed to find the back of the net in his last 10 outings in all competitions.

The disappointing result saw Jurgen Klopp's side surrender top spot in the Premier League table to Arsenal, who they will meet at Anfield on Saturday. Nunez will look to prepare for that huge clash in Liverpool's Carabao Cup quarter-final meeting with West Ham on Wednesday.