In a world full of tactical innovation, Antonee Robinson is a welcome throwback. His blistering speed, lung-busting overlaps, and growing defensive maturity make him a nightmare for opponents and a weapon Marco Silva can’t do without.
For a player tasked with marking Mohamed Salah all game, Antonee Robinson looked remarkably fresh.
And so, with 15 minutes remaining and Fulham drawing 1-1 away to league leaders Liverpool, Robinson had no intention of abandoning his attacking mindset. If anything, he doubled down on it.
Knocking the ball square to Harry Wilson in the middle of the park, Robinson surged down Fulham’s left flank, leaving a stream of Liverpool players in his wake.
Robinson assist for Fulham second goal - 1
Robinson assist for Fulham second goal - 2
Ten seconds later and the ball was in the back of the net, Rodrigo Muniz bundling in after Robinson’s lung-busting gallop and cross.
Yes, the hosts had been playing with 10 men for almost 50 minutes, but the speed and athleticism of Robinson was as impressive as his willingness to bomb forward. It was the second time that afternoon he had been directly involved in a Fulham goal, and it underlined his ever-growing influence on this team.
Robinson’s athleticism is impossible to miss. He runs the left flank tirelessly, and moments like his second assist at Anfield highlight just how much of an asset his physical attributes are.
Tracking data supports what the eye test suggests. Robinson is rapid — his top speed of 35.6 kph ranks fifth among all Premier League players this season — and relentless, averaging 8.5 sprints per 90 minutes. That’s the second-highest rate of any defender in the league, behind Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez (8.8). Nearly half (48.4%) of Robinson’s runs come at full sprint, a rate bettered only by Kerkez (52.5%) and Liverpool’s Andy Robertson (49.7%).
What’s more, this incredible amount of running comes without respite. Robinson is one of only four outfielders to play every single minute of their team’s Premier League campaign this season and is currently on a run of 49 consecutive league starts for Marco Silva’s side. Only James Tarkowski (93), Bernd Leno (90), Jordan Pickford (84), and André Onana (54) are on longer active streaks.
His remarkable physical endurance was something Silva directly referred to after the game as well: “What a performance. It is difficult to express in words. It’s not the first time. If we have to play again in two days, he’s going to be ready again. He’s a great athlete.”
Robinson’s second assist of the day brought his tally to six for the season, all of which have come from open play. That’s a figure only Mohamed Salah (8) and Bukayo Saka (7) can better. Since the start of last season, Robinson’s 12 Premier League assists are the most of any defender.
Antonee Robinson assists since last season
In a world of inverting and underlapping full-backs, Robinson is very much a traditional one. He hugs the left touchline, frequently overlapping Alex Iwobi, adding not only great width but great dynamism to Fulham’s play. The American leads the entire league for overlapping runs this season with 110 – if that’s not old school we don’t know what is.
Robinson’s touchmap below shows not only how high he likes to push up, but also that he’s getting into even more advanced areas this season compared to last.
Antonee Robinson touch map compared to last season Premier League
Some of that will be because Fulham have generally been better this season that last. They’re averaging 14 more completed passes in the opposition’s half per game than in 2023-24. But it also speaks to Robinson’s growing self-assurance.
The role he plays in how Fulham generated chances is invaluable. Robinson’s electric form, combined with the renaissance of Iwobi, means that Fulham’s left flank has become their most productive channel. Only Leicester (45.8%) have created a higher proportion of their chances down their left than Fulham (40.9%).
Fulham attacking third chances created - 2024-25
The bulk of that work comes through crosses. Fulham have attempted the joint-most open-play crosses in the league this season (251, level with Tottenham) and no side have completed more than their 56. Robinson’s contribution within that is substantial – he averages 4.1 open-play crosses per 90 minutes, a number only Spurs’ Pedro Porro (4.5) can beat among full-backs.
Against Liverpool, this was on full display. Robinson created a match-high four chances – three from crosses – as Fulham relentlessly targeted Liverpool’s right sides. Arne Slot’s side overall conceded six chances from the left flank – their joint most in a single Premier League game this season.
Despite leaning even more in his attacking role within the team, Robinson has tightened up defensively this season. Last campaign, he made three errors leading to shots, one of which resulted in a goal. This season, that number is zero. That’s despite being as aggressive as ever in defence. Robinson is attempting 3.1 tackles per 90 this season, which is a large increase from his rate of 2.5 last campaign.
He’s also won more high turnovers (13) that anyone else at Fulham, and the cluster of turnovers just inside the opposition half on Fulham’s left channel shows this:
Fulham high turnovers Premier League 2024-25
Robinson also being dribbled past at a lower rate, and Fulham’s opponents aren’t finding significant joy exploiting the space he vacates. If you break down where on the pitch Fulham concede chances – left (33.1%), middle (33.1%), and right (33.8%) – the split is extremely even.
At Anfield, Robinson’s defensive display was arguably as impressive as his attacking one. He handled Salah – one of the most formidable one-one-one attackers in the world – quite ably for the most part. The Egyptian failed to register a shot on target for the first time in a game this season and his overall expected goals total of 0.22 was his third-lowest mark of the campaign. Granted, he did deliver the cross for Cody Gakpo’s goal but come on. This is Salah we’re talking about.
Robinson, for his part, won more duels than any other player on the pitch and dispossessed Salah in half of their 12 one-on-one duels – the most turnovers Salah has suffered against a single opponent this season. He was similarly effective against Saka in Fulham’s previous game at home to Arsenal, restricting him to just two efforts on goal and winning the ball off him four times in their one-on-one duels – no player has done that more against Saka this season.
Silva was quick to highlight Robinson’s defensive improvements after the Liverpool game:
“The way he’s been improving in our defensive process, some defensive setups, he’s always open-minded to learn and he’s been improving.”
“But as well, playing against Salah, a lot of situations one-vs-one, the way he was brave, the way he was assertive and aggressive in the right way, with a yellow card from 25, 30 minutes into the game, even so always really aggressive in a good way.”
If some rumours are to be believed, seeing Andy Robertson line up against Robinson represented the present and future of Slot’s left flank. Events only exacerbated that feeling with Robertson sent off after just 17 minutes and Robinson’s excellent display. Manchester City are also rumoured to be interested in acquiring his services.
While there are doubts about whether his age fits the profile of a Liverpool signing, there are no doubts that Robinson’s performances this season mean we can now ask the question: is he the best left-back in England right now?
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