Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has brushed off criticism which has been aimed at defender Andrew Robertson, saying the left-back’s performances were taken for granted following the defeat against Napoli.
The Scottish captain was questioned after giving away a late penalty during Liverpool’s 2-0 loss to Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday but Robertson has been a star performer for Liverpool ever over the past two seasons and Jurgen Klopp has asked reporters to give the 25-year-old some more credit than he actually deserves.
While speaking to reporters, the 52-year-old German manager said that Robertson’s performances get taken for granted at times but he was arguably the best player on the pitch in Italy, “The criticism has nothing to do with the expectation. It is to do with the world out there. He has played well for weeks and months and then you take it for granted. If there is one game less than another, you start asking what has happened to Andy Robertson. Nothing, it’s completely normal. The game before, he was maybe the best player on the pitch.
Klopp also explained that Robertson had a normal game and did not view the incident with Callejon as an actual penalty after the Spaniard tripped on Robertson’s leg, “The [Jose] Callejon situation, we all agree that it was not a penalty. Was it smart from Callejon? Yes, if you want to be smart like this. He wanted to get Robertson out of the game with little challenges here and discussions with the referee, and he got a harsh yellow card, but you face very experienced players and they try everything to decrease your quality. Nothing else happened. It was a completely normal game from Robbo”
The Premier League leaders suffered their first defeat of the season in their opening Champions’ League group stage game after a 100 percent winning start in England’s top division.
