Liverpool 2 – 2 Fulham

Ten-man Liverpool lost two valuable points on their way to a first Premier League title since 2019/20 after playing a 2-2 draw against Fulham in a hectic, turbulent 100 minutes at Anfield.

In a game full of incident and intrigue, Fulham twice took the lead but were pegged back by a resurgent Liverpool, who played over 70 minutes with one player fewer after Andy Robertson saw red.

It is only the second time the Premier League leaders have failed to win at home after a 19-game unbeaten run all season – they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in October – and the gap at the top of the table is now five points instead of a possible seven before second-place Chelsea play on Sunday.

Alex Iwobi found Antonee Robinson, who played Andreas Pereira for the game’s opening goal, and that was just the start of an eventful and chaotic first half that saw Robertson sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity when he took out Harry Wilson.

The VAR reviewed the situation in detail and confirmed the decision of the field referee Tony Harrington. He also chose not to intervene when Pereira’s heavy foul on Ryan Gravenberch only resulted in a yellow card.

The febrile atmosphere then overwhelmed the normally calm Arne Slot, whose objections caught the attention of the very busy Harrington. The manager’s third yellow card of the season saw him serve a sideline ban at Tottenham next weekend.

“We all had the feeling that the referee was a bit nervous, maybe we sensed it,” Virgil van Dijk said afterwards. “We can’t blame the referee, but it’s part of the game.”

Anfield felt slighted and Liverpool desperately needed a lift. They did it thanks to the tireless efforts of Mo Salah, who, two minutes after the restart, directed a wonderful cross from Cody Gakpo deep, which he converted at the back post.

But the level and control that Slot so often demands was missing, and it only made the drama more intense.

Iwobi, who was involved in the first goal, also played a role in Fulham’s second goal, crossing for substitute Rodrigo Muniz and using a deft touch to guide the ball past Alisson.

The final twist came late, with Diogo Jota missing 11 games due to injury. Two of Arne Slot’s second-half subs, Darwin Nunez and Jota, combined before the latter gave Bernd Leno the eye and rolled the ball the other way.

Liverpool extend their lead at the top to five points, with neighbors Everton holding Arsenal to a goalless draw before Chelsea host Brentford on Sunday.

Van Dijk criticizes the “nervous” administration

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk:

Slot: Too many things went against us

Liverpool manager Arne Slot:

“It’s exactly the opposite of the Girona game where I was happy with the result but not with the performance. I’m very, very happy with the performance, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“If you lose points at home against Fulham, that’s not what you expect or want. Being behind twice and so many things going against us, except for one thing our players and our fans were outstanding.”

“The team showed character and that’s what Robbo (Andy Robertson) showed. You can’t blame him, he has the character to carry on with two studs (from Issa Diop) after a pretty hard blow to his knee. I felt like, ‘Okay.’ “Let’s see how it goes,” and I think it happened pretty quickly after that when he got the red card. Unfortunately, this resulted in a red card, which was a deserved red card.

Draw leaves Silva with “mixed feelings”

Fulham manager Marco Silva:

“It’s a mix of feelings. When you’re ahead twice and they’re playing with 10 men, we feel like we should have won the game. The way we started showed confidence in ourselves, great respect for Liverpool’s quality but “We came to try and compete and win the game.

“It was a bit emotional because sometimes they are unstoppable because of their quality and the crowd, but we took that risk. Our dynamic has always caused them a lot of problems.”

“We should have kept the ball better and let them run more, but the way we planned the game created so many problems for Liverpool. In the end, Liverpool’s strength also had an influence.”

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