Image Credits: Imago Images
The narrative surrounding Liverpool’s left-back position was heavily discussed during the summer.
Questions were mounting about whether Andy Robertson’s starring role in the club’s recent past could survive the arrival of the £40 million Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.
But his performance against Real Madrid on Tuesday night has now meant that the Scot may just be Arne Slot’s first-choice left back going forward.
Robertson vs Real Madri Figure
Accurate Passes 24/29 (83%)
Tackles 3
Interceptions 1
Recoveries 3
Accurate Crosses 1/3 (33%)
Journalist Henry Winter articulated what many observers had concluded following the final whistle, writing: “Andy Robertson is the left-back who just can’t be left out. He has such high standards, demanding of himself and others. He brings intensity, belief and defensive nous.”
The understanding between himself and Virgil van Dijk, accumulated through years of collective experience, manifested in a solidity down the left flank that had been occasionally lacking during Kerkez’s early tenure at the club.
Real Madrid’s attacking intent, particularly through the left-sided chambers where opportunities typically emerged, was consistently suffocated by Robertson’s anticipatory positioning and aggressive pressing when circumstances demanded it.
But speaking after the game, Robertson could not help but namecheck Thibaut Courtois and claimed that the Belgian always brings his best out against the Reds:
“Probably the lads who played in the final in Paris [in 2022] had a bit of déjà vu! He’s an unbelievable ’keeper, exceptional, and he always seems to bring out his best against us,” the Scot said to www.liverpoolfc.com post-match.
“He’s really hard to beat but thankfully we just kept knocking at the door and we believed that if we kept creating the chances we would hopefully knock it down eventually, and thankfully Macca popped up and got the goal.
“Then we could probably have scored more, the game really opened up. We were then defending and playing on the counter-attack, which probably suited us in the last 10 to 15 minutes and just if that last pass was right we could have been in one-on-one.
“But everyone worked their socks off today, even the lads coming off the bench really played their part as well, and [it was] a massive all-round performance today.”
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