Liverpool manager Arne Slot saw his team return to the Premier League pitch but not the win column following a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.
**[ MORE:**Liverpool 2-2 Fulham — as it happened ]
The Premier League table-leading Reds have a match-in-hand on their closest chasers after their Merseyside derby with Everton was postponed in Week 15 due to Storm Darragh.
That stopped the Reds from making immediate amends for a draw with Newcastle, and there was controversy at Anfield as they again dropped points on Saturday.
There were moments of controversy including a red card issued to Andy Robertson after a last man back challenge to deprive ex-Liverpool man Harry Wilson a chance to beat Alisson Becker.
But Diogo Jota came off the bench as the 10-man Reds scored a pair of equalizers to deny Fulham a famous win.
Slot and captain Virgil van Dijk both sounded plenty understanding about Robertson’s sending off. Read both men’s thoughts, below.
Virgil van Dijk reaction — Referee was nervous
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was not happy with the second yellow card shown to Robertson, but spoke respectfully about the situation.
Well, other than to imply that head referee Tony Harrington wasn’t confident in the decision.
“I had conversations with the players of Fulham and we felt like the referee was nervous. He couldn’t properly communicate with Robertson I felt. We can’t put the blame on the referee. We all speak about protecting the referee but I couldn’t speak to him. It shouldn’t be a big thing because he isn’t why we dropped points.”
Arne Slot reaction — How did Liverpool boss react to calls in draw with Fulham?
Here’s what Slot had to say, via Sky Sports.
“I don’t think I could’ve asked for more from my players, especially after going down to 10 men. Of course, we could have had two points more.”
“I think [Robertson] might have been a bit too injured to keep going because normally he’s faster than that. It says a lot about his character that he wants to keep on going but it results in a red card. I think it’s just whether it’s offside. I was clear it wasn’t going to be changed. It’s maybe the only thing I didn’t complain about today. It’s an emotional game and we were a man down, it’s frustrating. It’s good to see our performance after so many setbacks.
“It’s difficult to judge for me because I only see it in real-time like the referee. We have to accept what VAR sees. You know how important these decisions can be. We ended up with a draw and I don’t think we can blame the referee for that. There were a few moments when I could have been given a yellow card. It’s marginal moments and when some go against you, you think some will go for you but I haven’t felt that here. There was a moment when one of their players already on a yellow could have been given another.”