Van Dijk makes ‘nervous’ referee claim as ten-man Liverpool drop points | OneFootball

Virgil van Dijk believes that referee Tony Harrington was “nervous” while officiating Saturday’s drama-filled draw between Liverpool and Fulham at Anfield.

The visitors took an early lead through Andreas Pereira before Andy Robertson was sent off for taking down the last man, Harry Wilson, as he was about to run through on goal.

Cody Gakpo equalised shortly after the break, but substitute Rodrigo Muniz flicked the ball past Alisson Becker to put the Cottagers back in front.

Diogo Jota came off the bench for his first Premier League appearance since October to level things up once more, turning brilliantly before finishing in the 86th minute.

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Van Dijk says referee ‘nervous’ as ten-man Liverpool draw with Fulham

Despite being down a man, Liverpool looked the more likely to score as they pushed hard for a winner, but ultimately dropped two points in the title race. Chelsea can close the gap to the leaders to just two points with a win over Brentford on Sunday.

“A great comeback is very positive,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “It’s disappointing having 10 men but we showed fight, kept trying to create chances. Could have been more but we take the point and move on.

“Stay calm. It’s easier to say than do it. It was always going to be tough against them. We saw it last year and last week against Arsenal. We had to turn it around and keep fighting. We tried.

“I had conversations with the players of Fulham and we felt like the referee was nervous. He couldn’t properly communicate with Robertson I felt.

“We can’t put the blame on the referee. We all speak about protecting the referee but I couldn’t speak to him. It shouldn’t be a big thing because he isn’t why we dropped points.

“It is what it is. We take the points, recover quickly and be ready for the game on Wednesday.”

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