Robertson red card compounds ‘stinking afternoon’ after Pereira goal

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

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

Robertson’s dismisssal, which followed a lengthy Video Assistant Referee check for offside, came after he miscontrolled the ball and brought down Harry Wilson in a hasty attempt to atone for his initial error.

“What an absolutely stinking afternoon for Andrew Robertson,” former England striker Chris Sutton. “He had that collision earlier, then deflected Pereira’s shot in and now has 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 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 players arrived on a four-match unbeaten away run.

Midfielder Pereira reached 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.

Fast starts from @FulhamFC 🏎️

The Cottagers have opened the scoring early in each of their last three matches! pic.twitter.com/l88uaUBAZT

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 14, 2024

Robertson red card

Robertson had been given his marching orders once previously for Liverpool, receiving a straight red at Tottenham 13 minutes from time in a 2-2 draw on December 19 2021.

As an 18-year-old, he also saw a straight red in the 74th minute of a Scottish League Cup game while playing for Queen’s Park at St Johnstone on September 25 2012.

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

Sutton later suggested that Gomez had taken over that position from Gakpo. “I think that’s the right move,” the pundit added. “It looked really lopsided with Gakpo. You wouldn’t say he’s too defensive-minded, so [Slot’s] trying to plug that gap.”