Andy Robertson has admitted he felt he had a point to prove in Liverpool’s win over Aston Villa after being “written off” for the first time in his Anfield career. The left-back produced an impressive display as Arne Slot’s side moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday, following a difficult start to the season.
The Scotland captain missed almost all of Slot’s first pre-season with a longstanding ankle problem and saw Kostas Tsimikas take his place for wins against Brighton and Bayer Leverkusen. Robertson said the criticism after his performance at Arsenal fuelled his response against Unai Emery’s side: “The last couple of games I’ve been on the bench and I got doubters for the first time in a long time, first time at this club. But it suits me in this position. I am trying to prove people wrong again.”
Robertson sustained a serious ankle injury on international duty in March but played through pain as Liverpool chased a quadruple and Scotland competed at the European Championship. He aggravated the problem in September and has held talks with Slot about his form. “The manager is very open and honest,” Robertson said. “We have spoken quite a few times and it has always been good conversations. There is mutual respect between both of us even if we don’t agree with the team lineups.”
Liverpool entered the international break top of the Premier League and Champions League group after winning 15 of Slot’s first 17 matches. Robertson attributed the smooth transition to winning games: “Winning games breeds confidence. You win one and roll on to the next one. At the start we had full weeks in between games to do a lot of tactical work.”
