Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson had one of the most memorable games of his career as the Premier League leaders surprisingly fell behind at home to Fulham on Saturday.
Scotland captain Robertson was injured early on, disallowed Andreas Pereira’s 11th-minute opener for the Cottagers and given a straight red card six minutes later.
Robertson’s dismissal, which followed a long check by the Assistant Referee for offside, came after he miscontrolled the ball and brought down Harry Wilson in a hasty attempt to atone for his initial mistake.
“What an absolutely stinking afternoon for Andrew Robertson,” former England striker Chris Sutton. He had that clash earlier, then parried Pereira’s shot and now he’s sent off.
AP at Anfield. 💥 pic.twitter.com/bUUpU8Ic2j
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) December 14, 2024
Liverpool vs Fulham
Despite their promising form, few would have confidently backed Fulham to trouble a Liverpool side seeking a 10th consecutive home win in all competitions.
Visiting manager Marco Silva was winless in all 10 of his previous games against Liverpool, although his men went on a four-game unbeaten run away from home.
Midfielder Pereira got onto Antone Robinson’s cross behind Robertson at the far post, firing into the roof of the net to give Fulham a lead they held at half-time.
As part of an 18-game unbeaten run, Liverpool had won each of their previous three home games 2-0, beating Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Fast starts from @FulhamFC 🏎️
The Cottagers have opened the scoring early in each of their last three games! pic.twitter.com/l88uaUBAZT
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 14, 2024
Robertson red card
Robertson had been given his marching orders once before for Liverpool, receiving a straight red against Tottenham after 13 minutes in a 2–2 draw on 19 December 2021.
As an 18-year-old, he also saw a straight red in the 74th minute of a Scottish League Cup match while playing for Queen’s Park in St Johnstone on 25 September 2012.
Liverpool manager Arne Slott responded to Robertson’s departure by deploying midfielder Ryan Gravenberch as a third centre-back alongside Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk, with striker Cody Gakpo initially at left wing-back.
Sutton later suggested that Gomez had taken over this position from Gakpo. “I think this is the right move,” the expert added. “He seemed very one-sided with Gakpo. You wouldn’t say he’s much of a defender, so (Slot) tries to fill that void.”
