Arne Slot expressed pride in his Liverpool players as they twice battled back from going a goal down to claim a point in a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield despite being down to 10 men.
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Six minutes after conceding the opener to Andreas Pereira, Andrew Robertson was sent off in the 17th minute in a calamitous start to the match.
But first Cody Gakpo equalised, and despite Fulham substitute Rodrigo Muniz making their man advantage count by restoring the lead for the visiting side, another replacement, Diogo Jota, struck in the 86th minute as Liverpool avoided a second home defeat of the season.
Even if it was only the third time he had seen his team drop points this season, Slot hailed his team’s efforts as they extended their lead to five points over Chelsea, who could reduce it to two if they beat Brentford on Sunday evening.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
21 | +30 | 50 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
22 | +22 | 44 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
22 | +11 | 44 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
22 | +17 | 40 |
"I don't think I could've asked for more from my players, especially after going down to 10 men,” Slot said. “I couldn't have asked for more in terms of performance and results.
“Of course, we could have had two points more. At the start of the game, you always want to start intense."
Slot said an early injury to Robertson had affected his team and possibly the player in making the mistake that earned him a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
“After 30 seconds, one of ours was on the floor and needed treatment for a while so we couldn't get the intensity more,” Slot said.
"I think Robbo 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.
“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.”
Silva's mixed feelings
For Fulham boss Marco Silva, the end result brought conflicting feelings.
"It's a mixture of emotions and feelings at this moment,” he told Sky Sports. “I'm pleased with how we started the game. It was really good. We were winning the game already, with the red card.
"Most of the chances created were either finding Alex [Iwobi] or [Antonee] Robinson on the left. We conceded early and late in the second half, we have to be stronger in some duels and some moments. The crowd pushes a more emotional game. We should have kept ourselves more balanced and don't let emotions go over our decisions.
"We did really well 11 against 11. We had so many moments in the second half, three against four. We should have done so much better. Overall, a great job from them.”
