Andy Robertson’s Must-Needed Return to the Liverpool Limelight

In the midst of Liverpool intense pursuit of the Premier League title, the Reds will be looking for as much experience and quality as possible. For the most part this season, Virgil Van Dijk has been the only experienced leader within the squad, along with the help from the likes of Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister.

However, injuries to the likes of Alisson Becker, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have massively had an impact on their contributions this season. With the latter of those names recently returning from injury, it is quickly becoming integral for Robertson to feature regularly in the closing stages of the season.

Robbo’s Return:

Robertson recently made his return to the Liverpool side from the bench in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Sheffield United on Thursday. With the score at 1-1 when he came on, the full-back played a huge part in securing the three points and even broke the Premier League assists record for a defender as he set up Cody Gakpo’s header in the 90th minute.

Performance vs United:

He then made his return to the starting lineup in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Sunday. Despite a very frustrating team performance in that game, Robertson was certainly one of the standout performers for the Reds. Defensively he was solid against the likes of Garnacho and Antony, but he also provided a major threat going forward.

Roberts made five key passes and constantly found himself in dangerous positions, leading to 17 crosses into the box. If the forwards had been in finer form, they could have had hat-tricks from Robertson’s deliveries alone.

Looking Ahead:

For the remainder of the run-in, I would much prefer to see Robertson starting as many games as possible. Joe Gomez has been incredible this season, but it’s hard to ignore the difference that having a natural left-back can have on Liverpool’s offensive play, especially.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold set to return this week, surely we can expect to see a return of those two in the back four. There’s no doubt that it’s no coincidence that a lot of the games Liverpool have struggled to create or score big chances have been when these two have been missing from the side. They have always been two of our most creative forces and that was never going to change in less than one season.

Missed Opportunites:

Kostas Tsimikas will certainly be kicking himself for not nailing down a place in the starting eleven during Robertson’s absence. It’s a strange one though, because I actually think that Tsimikas has had a solid season for the Reds but has seemingly slipped to third choice in the pecking order at left-back, behind Robertson and Gomez.

With Liverpool linked with the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Goncalo Inacio, it’s hard to see what the future holds for the Greek international. Having only signed a new contract last year, it’s hard to see the club selling him but he will also never have a better opportunity at nailing down a place than he has this season.