Arne Slot defends Andy Robertson after Liverpool star is sent off after just 17 minutes of Reds' draw with Fulham

Liverpool boss Arne Slot came to Andy Robertson's defence after the full-back picked an early red card against Fulham.

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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Scottish left-back received a lot of criticism from Liverpool fans after he picked up a red card in the 17th of the match against Fulham on Saturday at Anfield. Robertson tried to intercept a long ball from Andreas Pereira for Harry Wilson. He did succeed at first but a poor first touch almost allowed Wilson to regain possession, however, the Reds star caught the winger on his knee with a nasty challenge which led to his sending off.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Going down to 10 men early in the game had a big impact on the result as the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw. Unlike the fans, Slot defended Robertson and claimed that the defender, along with the entire team, showed a lot of character to pick up a point from the fixture.
WHAT ARNE SLOT SAID
Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference, the Dutch coach said: "I think what the team showed today, the character they showed, that's also what Robbo showed. Sometimes if you get a kick like this, two studs on a knee, that can hurt for a few minutes. Then, if you just keep on running, it gets better and better and that's what we were hoping for.
"Not least because I only had one defender on the bench, who was not a left full-back as well. So, we were hoping he was managing to come through it and I think he did quite well, but the moment I noticed he wasn't completely himself was the one time they put the ball in behind and he started running."
He added: "He was just able to head it back to Ali [Alisson Becker], but I thought, 'OK, let's see how this continues' and I think it was quite quickly afterwards where he conceded the red card. Nothing to blame on him, [it was] character that he wanted to continue because he got quite a hard knock on his knee with two studs. Unfortunately, it led to a red card that was a deserved red card."

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WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?
The Merseyside club will be next seen in action on Wednesday as they take on Southampton in a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash away from home.

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