Andy Robertson: We've made fantastic start but need to see it through

Andy Robertson is understandably delighted with the strong start shown by Liverpool in the Champions League. The Reds sit five points clear at the top of Group B after winning all their three matches so far in the competition. In the recent clash, Jurgen Klopp’s boys claimed a significant 3-2 victory away at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night. At Estadio Metropolitano, Mohamed Salah’s second-half penalty ensured it was three wins from three for the Reds in Europe this term. “It’s such a good start to the campaign but now it’s important that we see it through and we qualify with as many games to go,” Robertson told Liverpoolfc.com.

“If it’s possible to qualify in the next game, we want to do it of course. It’s always easier when you can do it with two games left or one game left, but the aim is still to qualify and hopefully finish top of the group – but it’s a really tough group. To get the nine points to start, it’s a fantastic start and we know Atletico don’t get beat here very often. 

“The fact we’ve come away with the points is the most important thing. An ugly win but sometimes they’re the better ones. To get nine points out of nine is so important. We’ve now got them back at Anfield in a couple of weeks and we need to probably play better than we did and hopefully be as clinical as we were. Hopefully that will be enough to see us through.”  

‘I think we deserved the three points’

In the action-packed Tuesday night clash, the Reds raced into a two-goal lead by the 13th minute at Estadio Metropolitano, through Mohamed Salah’s deflected shot and Naby Keita’s fabulous volley. Diego Simeone’s boys fought back to level before the break thanks to a double from Antoine Griezmann. 

However, the Frenchman’s night turned from joy to despair in no time. Griezmann was sent off for a high boot early in the second half. Salah then slotted in a penalty on 78 minutes to restore the advantage for the visitors. As a result, Liverpool have moved five points clear in the group. 

Robertson started: “That shows you how good they are, especially at home, how difficult they can make it. We got off to a dream start and maybe people at home started thinking it was going to be an easy night but we knew it wasn’t going to be. 

“We knew they were going to get better, they were going to start playing their game plan because it didn’t quite work in the first 20 minutes. Then they started getting in our faces and started winning second balls, started getting the crowd up. 

“From our point of view, we’ve got to try to stay strong there. We can’t concede the goals we conceded but it was important to hit the reset button at half-time, come out and try to do what we did in the first 20 minutes. I think in the second half we were a bit more composed, better on the ball, taking chances. I think we deserved the three points in the end.”