Liverpool: Andy Robertson has said Liverpool have the belief and momentum to stay ahead of Manchester City and end the club’s arduous wait for a Premier League title.
Liverpool regained top spot from Pep Guardiola’s champions on Sunday with a comfortable defeat of Manchester United. A sixth consecutive league win demonstrated the depth of Jurgen Klopp’s resources this season, with the substitute Xherdan Shaqiri scoring twice and the summer signing Fabinho outstanding in central midfield. Robertson says it also fuelled growing confidence at Anfield that the team can stay the distance and claim Liverpool’s first league championship since 1990.
The Scotland captain said: “Of course we do [believe Liverpool can stay top]. We are in December, we know how tough this period is, but we are top of the league. We have just got to keep this period going. We know how good Manchester City are, we have a bit of a gap that has opened up now [to third], the two of us are close to each other, but we believe we can stay top. There is a long way to go and we still have to play big games, starting on Friday night [at Wolves].”
Sunday also marked Liverpool’s fifth consecutive win in all competitions in a fortnight. The left-back believes a 100% record from a gruelling sequence will give Klopp’s team added momentum for the festive campaign, which includes a visit to the Etihad Stadium on 3 January.
Robertson added: “It has been a huge few weeks. People maybe looked at the fixtures and thought: ‘Everton, it’s a derby, always tough; Bournemouth, always tough; Napoli was a must-win and Manchester United speaks for itself.’ We have come out unscathed but we need to move on from that. We can’t just rest on that and take our eye off the ball. We need to stay focused 100% and look forward to the challenge at Wolves.”
Jose Mourinho highlighted Robertson’s relentless energy as a factor in United’s 3-1 defeat, claiming he was tired from watching the full-back’s “100-metre sprints every minute”. Robertson commented: “It is just part and parcel of my game; I keep on going until the end. I got a bit of space, particularly second half, and the gaffer is always banging on to me and Trent [Alexander-Arnold], more so this season, that we have to be more involved. I just tried to do that.
“Special mention must go to Clyney [Nathaniel Clyne] though — being out for so long and my God, he was brilliant. He has had his struggles with injury but he put in a first-class performance and that just sums up our squad at the minute.”
— Guardian News & Media Ltd
