Thing could have gone terminally worse for a Liverpool side short of a man after the 17-minute mark.
To say that Arne Slot’s title hopefuls instead rallied and railed against the tide to instead take a point showcased an incredible force of will.
Rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City may very well look at this as two points dropped, and they have every right to in a season where the Merseysiders have set incredibly high standards for consistency.
For those of a Liverpool persuasion, however, you could reasonably argue this was yet further proof of the Reds’ title credentials.
Only time will tell on that front.
Liverpool will have to plod on in their League Cup quarter-final without Arne Slot who will serve a one-match ban after picking up a third yellow card (following bookings against Arsenal and Chelsea) on Saturday.
Daily Mail reporter Lewis Steele confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the touchline ban would not carry over to our next Premier League clash with Tottenham.
The Dutch head coach was cautioned after showing frustration at referee Tony Harrington‘s decision to book Curtis Jones in the second half.
To clear up confusion, told Arne Slot will serve his one-match touchline ban in Carabao Cup match at Southampton on Wednesday and it won’t roll to next Premier League game. He should be back in the dugout for Tottenham away.
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) December 14, 2024
With the greatest of respect to the Saints, we’d certainly prefer to have our manager back in the dugout to help us get back to our winning ways in the English top-flight.
The good news for first-choice left-back Andy Robertson is that the punishment for his red card suspension was predetermined for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity (after scything down Harry Wilson).
The Scot’s one-game suspension will be served against Russell Martin’s struggling Southampton side in the League Cup.
However, there were some comments made about the 30-year-old after our 2-2 draw with Fulham that may present a small worry as far as his future availability is concerned.
“If you get a kick like this, two studs on the knee, that can hurt for a few minutes. We were hoping if he keeps running it would get better. I only had one defender on the bench, who is not a left full‑back, so you are hoping he was managing to come through it,” Arne Slot’s post-game comments were relayed by Hayters TV.
“But I first noticed he wasn’t completely himself when they put the ball in behind and he started running and was just able to head back to Alisson. I felt: ‘Okay, let’s see how this continues,’ and soon afterwards he conceded the red card.
“Nothing to blame him for, the character for wanting to continue. Unfortunately it led to a red card, which was a deserved red card.”
Perhaps not so serious an issue as to leave Robertson sidelined for weeks, but definitely one to keep an eye on given the lack of available backup options at left-back amid Kostas Tsimikas’ recovery.
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