How Fulham’s Antonee Robinson has become the best left-back in the Premier League | OneFootball

US international starred against Liverpool and has taken his game to a new level this season

At Anfield on Saturday, there was what felt like a sliding-doors moment in the world of Premier League left-backs.

Robinson assisted both Fulham goals in another brilliant performance.

He is the most prolific assister of all defenders in the Premier League since the start of last season with 12, while only Bukayo Saka and Mohamed Salah have more than his six assists this term.

Salah was also given a reminder of Robinson’s quality at Anfield, successfully kept at bay by the America international for much of the affair. His manager, Marco Silva, said it was “difficult to express in words” how well Robinson had played against Liverpool.

Robinson gave Mohamed Salah a tough afternoon at Anfield

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

“He’s been great for us again this season,” said Silva before the game. “Not only in our offensive process, in the defensive process as well. He’s a great athlete, always capable to go up and down”.

That is shown by the fact he is averaging 8.5 sprints per match in the Premier League, bettered only by one defender: Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.

The Premier League has seen fewer and fewer out-and-out left-backs in recent seasons, but Kerkez and Robinson stand out, as does Marc Cucurella (when he’s wearing the right studs).

Manchester City have tended to rotate between Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes and Josko Gvardiol on the left side, Arsenal between Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and most recently 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Robinson’s lung-busting runs have been a constant in the purest sense of the word.

He is on a run of 49 consecutive Premier League starts for Fulham and is one of just four outfield players to play every minute in the Premier League this season.

It is an underrated quality in football, but Robinson is very rarely injured.

Silva last week praised his left-back for improving the defensive side of his game over the last two years, and he is right in identifying Robinson as a now highly successful defender.

Marco Silva Silva last week praised Robinson for improving the defensive side of his game

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

In an interview with WhoScored this month, Robinson said of statistics: “I don’t look too much into it. You could have a game where it says you’ve missed seven crosses, but in a game you’ve put seven crosses in a good area. So you can take what you want out of it.

“But, on a whole, that’s evolving to where football is going. Over time, the stats don’t lie.”

And, indeed, they don’t. Robinson has completed the highest number of tackles plus interceptions this season (81) of any player in the league. Last season, in the same metric, he ranked second. Top? His then-Fulham teammate Joao Palhinha.

One wonders if the 27-year-old from Milton Keynes would be England’s first-choice left-back if he had not committed his international career to the US, who he qualifies for through his father.

Robinson said recently that he is desperate to score his first Premier League goal as soon as possible, but acknowledged that the positional demands on him at Fulham tend to see him stay wide.

For the US, however, he is given more licence to arrive at the back post, sometimes even playing as a left wing-back.

Liverpool have long been fond of Robinson, keeping tabs on his progress over a number of years.

His stellar start to the season has swirled up fresh murmurs of transfer interest in him, and some Fulham supporters were alarmed when Robinson was seen to have ‘liked’ comments on social media suggesting he would fit right in at Anfield.

But it then emerged that the comments were just left by friends of Robinson, not so much telling him to leave Craven Cottage but merely lauding their mate for his exceptional form.

Plenty of teams will be looking at Robinson as a target, but in the meantime Fulham can benefit from his meteoric rise.

At a point in time when there are so few genuine left-backs playing regularly in the Premier League, it now feels fair to conclude that Robinson is the best of the lot.