Liverpool were once again held to a draw in the Premier League as they played out a 2-2 draw against Fulham at Anfield.
Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz twice gave Marco Silva’s side the lead, but the Reds showed lots of courage to strike back as they responded through Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota in the second half.
Andy Robertson’s sending-off in the first half emerged as a big talking point as he received his marching orders for a foul at the edge of the penalty area on Harry Wilson.
And Virgil van Dijk has made an interesting claim on referee Tony Harrington after the Scot was sent off.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says the referee was ‘nervous’ before Andy Robertson red card
Andrew Robertson of Liverpool reacts after being shown a red card during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Fulham FC at Anfield on ...
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Robertson took a poor first touch and Wilson immediately latched onto the ball as he aimed to run into the penalty area.
However, the experienced defender lost his composure a little bit as he brought him down cynically.
The ball found its way into Raul Gimenez who tried to dink Alisson Becker, but Van Dijk was at hand to clear the ball away.
Harrington pulled play back to award Fulham a free kick as Robertson was adjudged to have fouled Wilson as he brandished a straight red card to the Liverpool left-back.
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Speaking about the incident, Van Dijk feels the Fulham players agreed with him that the referee was nervous, adding that he failed to communicate clearly why Robertson received a red card.
“I had conversations with the players of Fulham and we felt like the referee was nervous,” said Van Dijk via BBC.
“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.
Liverpool's Dutch defender #04 Virgil van Dijk applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Ful...
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“It shouldn’t be a big thing because he isn’t why we dropped points.”It is what it is. We take the points, recover quickly and be ready for the game on Wednesday.”
On the other hand, Mike Dean feels Pereira should have been sent off for Fulham as the Brazilian midfielder committed a nasty foul on Ryan Gravenberch in the first half.
Van Dijk says referee isn’t to blame for dropped points
Liverpool didn’t feel sorry for themselves after going down to ten men as Arne Slot opted to play with three at the back, with Gravenberch slotting in as a central defender.
Van Dijk praises his teammates for their fighting spirit as they rallied back twice despite being down to ten men, although he admitted that it was two points dropped in the Premier League title race.
He continued: “A great comeback is very positive. It’s disappointing having 10 men but we showed fight, kept trying to create chances. Could have been more but we take the point and move on.
“Stay calm. It’s easier to say than do it. It was always going to be tough against them. We saw it last year and last week against Arsenal. We had to turn it around and keep fighting. We tried.”
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