Robertson’s red card compounds the ‘stinking afternoon’ after Pereira’s goal

Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson had one of the most forgettable games of his career as the Premier League leaders surprisingly fell behind at home to Fulham on Saturday.

Scotland captain Robertson was hurt early on, deflecting in Andreas Pereira’s opener for the Cottagers in the 11th minute and receiving a straight red card six minutes later.

Robertson’s dismissal, which followed a lengthy video assistant check for offside, came after he mishandled the ball and brought down Harry Wilson in a hasty attempt to atone for his initial error

“What a stinking afternoon for Andrew Robertson,” said former England forward Chris Sutton. “He had that collision earlier, then he deflected Pereira’s shot and now he’s been 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 upset a Liverpool side looking for a 10th successive home win in all competitions.

Visiting manager Marco Silva was winless in his previous 10 games against Liverpool, although his players arrived on a four-game unbeaten run away from home.

Midfielder Pereira got onto Antonee 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-match unbeaten run, Liverpool had won each of their previous three home games 2-0, beating Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

The 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

Red card to Robertson

Robertson had received his marching orders once before for Liverpool, receiving a straight red at Tottenham 13 minutes from time 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 at Queen’s Park in St Johnstone on 25 September 2012.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot reacted to Robertson’s departure by deploying midfielder Ryan Gravenberch as a central third alongside Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk, with striker Cody Gakpo initially at left-back.

Sutton later suggested that Gomez had taken over from Gakpo. “I think this is the right step,” added the expert. “With Gakpo, he looked very unbalanced. You wouldn’t say he’s too defensive-minded, so (Slot) is trying to plug that gap.”