Andy Robertson admitted he had no idea how his opening goal against Atletico Madrid went in during Liverpool’s dramatic 3-2 Champions League victory at Anfield.
The Scotland captain was credited with the opener just four minutes in when Mohamed Salah’s free-kick deflected off his body and beat Jan Oblak.
“I’ve not got a clue!” Robertson told TNT Sports after the match. “The set-piece coach, for whatever reason, he said I was crucial to set-pieces today so I’ve taken it literally! I was just trying to get in the line of the ’keeper so he couldn’t really see. It’s a great finish, give me the Puskas Award now! [Laughs] Obviously I didn’t know much about it but it was a great start.”
Liverpool quickly doubled their lead as Salah produced a moment of brilliance to hold off three defenders before slotting home.
But Atletico hit back just before the break through Marcos Llorente. The Spanish midfielder struck again late in the second half, this time via a fortunate deflection off Alexis Mac Allister that left Alisson helpless.
With the game heading for a draw, the Reds once again found a late winner. Virgil van Dijk rose highest in the 92nd minute to power home Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner in front of the Kop, sealing Liverpool’s fifth straight victory of the season.
He added: “We need to maybe get back to winning a bit simpler and a bit easier. The assistant manager turned to me when Virgil put it in and said he’s getting too old for it, so I can’t imagine what the fans are like.
“Obviously it’s a great thing to have, being able to keep going right to the end, but when you’re 2-0 up and you’ve played so well in the first half, it should have been a more comfortable night.”
The match also marked Alexander Isak’s Liverpool debut following his £125m Deadline Day move from Newcastle United. The Swedish striker lasted almost an hour before making way for Hugo Ekitike, with both forwards earning praise from Robertson.
“I thought he was excellent,” said the left-back. “Obviously not really had a pre-season, not had a lot of games since last season. But I thought, especially the first half, he was excellent. [He] naturally got tired and then it’s amazing to have a player like Hugo to come on. Both of them have got such quality.
“We’ve got a lot of new players, they have to settle in; playing with a big club like this is not easy. They’ve all really done well. They are the future, they are the ones who are going to take this club forward. They have shown glimpses so far and I’m sure they’ll only get better.”
The Reds’ victory keeps Arne Slot’s side perfect in all competitions so far this season, though Robertson insists they need to rediscover more straightforward wins.
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