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, as the ball collided with his foot in the 11th minute by Andreas Pereira, before receiving a direct red card six minutes later.
Robertson's red card, which followed a prolonged VAR check 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 foul afternoon for Andrew Robertson,” former England striker Chris Sutton said. “He was collided earlier, then he blocked Pereira's shot and has now been sent off.”
AP at Anfield. 💥 pic.twitter.com/bUUpU8Ic2j
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) December 14, 2024
Liverpool vs Fulham
Despite their promising form, there were few who would confidently back Fulham to upset a Liverpool side chasing a tenth successive home win in all competitions.
Visiting coach Marco Silva had been winless in all 10 of his previous matches against Liverpool, although his players arrived on a four-match unbeaten run away from home.
Midfielder Pereira got to Anthony Robinson's cross beyond Robertson at the far post, and fired into the roof of the net to give Fulham the lead they had held in the first half.
As part of an 18-match unbeaten run, Liverpool had won each of their previous three home matches 2-0, beating Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City.
It starts quickly from @Fulham 🏎️
The Cottagers have opened the scoring early in each of their last three games! pic.twitter.com/l88uaUBAZT
— English Premier League (@premierleague) December 14, 2024
Red card for Robertson
Robertson has been ordered off once previously for Liverpool, receiving a straight red card against Tottenham with 13 minutes to go in a 2-2 draw on 19 December 2021.
As an 18-year-old, he also saw a straight red card in the 74th minute of a Scottish League Cup match while playing for Queen's Park's St Johnstone on 25 September 2012.
Liverpool manager Arne Slott's reaction to Robertson's departure was to deploy midfielder Ryan Grafenbrech as a third centre-back alongside Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk, with striker Cody Jacobo initially at left-back.
Sutton later suggested that Gomez had taken over the position from Jackpo. “I think this is the right move,” the critic added. “It looked really unbalanced with Jackpo. You can't say he's very defensive-minded, so (Sloat) is trying to fill that gap.
