The Athletic’s James Pearce has claimed that Liverpool’s Andy Robertson is ‘beating himself up’ over his current poor form.
Last season, the Scotland international was one of the Reds’ most reliable players. In a season when much of the defence suffered various injury issues, Robertson was available and used by Jurgen Klopp in all 38 Premier League games.
Ironically, at the very start of this season, he was unavailable and Kostas Tsimikas played ahead of him in the club’s first two league games.
With another left-back emerging in the team, Robertson is possibly under more pressure to perform than he has been in other seasons. While speaking on The Red Agenda podcast, Pearce wondered if the 27-year-old is now ‘trying too hard’ as his form is becoming an ‘issue’.
Should Andy Robertson be dropped for Kostas Tsimikas?
Yes
No
He said: “He is someone, I think, who is very hard on himself when things aren’t going great. And I just wonder whether he’s beating himself up a little bit and maybe trying too hard at times and that’s affecting his decision-making.
“But it was clear from speaking to Klopp on Friday, when he was asked about it, he said, ‘You know, yes, Tsimikas is pushing Robbo. But, for me, Robertson is still the best left-back in the world’.
“And, you know, that show of faith was forthcoming with recalling him on Sunday, but it wasn’t the big performance and the big response that we were all hoping for. So yeah, I think that is an issue.”
TIF Thoughts on Andy Robertson and Liverpool…
Having started in the disappointing 3-2 loss against West Ham United, Robertson likely wouldn’t have done his confidence a great deal of good.
His positional rival Tsimikas was also preferred over him in the club’s previous match – the midweek Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid – where Liverpool kept a clean sheet. This could perhaps signal a change in Jurgen Klopp’s thinking.
With the international break now on, the Scottish captain will have a chance to potentially reset and rediscover his best form. No doubt, he’ll be hoping to come back to Merseyside a much more content performer. If not, Tsimikas could be primed to steal his spot at left-back.
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