Liverpool manager Arne Slott has expressed his support for left-back Andy Robertson after he received a costly red card. Saturday tied with Fulham 2-2.
Robertson was shown a straight red card just 17 minutes into the game after another foul on Harry Wilson, as he failed to control an attempted interception before rushing in to try and stop a drive on goal.
with Liverpool Having been 1-0 down at the time, it left the Reds with a real mountain to climb and they needed a late strike from substitute Diogo Jota to salvage a point.
After the match, Slott said Robertson was trying to shake off the blow he took earlier in the match and may not have been at his best physically when he found himself facing Wilson's attack.
“I think what the team showed, the character they showed, that's what Robbo showed as well,” Slott said. “Sometimes, if you get a kick like that, two nails on the knee, it can hurt for a few minutes. Then, if you keep running, it gets better and better and that's what we were hoping for.”
“Not least because I only had one defender on the bench, who wasn't a left-back either. So, we hoped he could get through that and I thought he did a very good job, but the moment I noticed him he wasn't quite himself, it was “The only one where they put the ball back and he started running.”
“He was able to head the ball back to Ali (Allison), but I thought, 'OK, let's see how this goes,'” Slott continued, “and I think he quickly received the red card after that.” Nothing to blame. “It was the character he wanted to continue with because he got hit on the knee hard with a couple of kicks and, unfortunately, that led to him getting a red card that deserved a red card.”
Because Robertson was sent off for being denied a goal-scoring opportunity, rather than violent behaviour, he will only be suspended for one match and will therefore miss midweek's Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Southampton.
