‘Terrific’ Liverpool star has chance to prove he made right choice this summer as Reds face Atletico – opinion
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Liverpool’s Champions League campaign gets underway on Wednesday against Atletico Madrid.
The Reds have been far from convincing at the beginning of the new season, but with that said, they are the only team to be on maximum points.
They have left in very late in all four games so far, but champions always find a way, and that is exactly what Liverpool have done.
However, they will want performances to improve and this starts on Wednesday when they take on Atletico under the Anfield lights in a match that rarely disappoints.
As a whole, they will want to prove a point, but there is one player in particular who will want to stand out above the rest and prove that he made the right choice this summer.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Due to the sheer amount of games Liverpool will have to play this season, with the Reds having six this month alone, Arne Slot is expected to make changes to the side that edged past Burnley.
One of the perhaps more obvious ones is to replace Milos Kerkez, who got substituted before half-time, with the experienced Andy Robertson, with the Scotsman having many points to prove.
The first is that he is capable of being Liverpool’s first-choice left-back still, with the 31-year-old yet to start a game this season.
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Robertson has been playing second fiddle to Kerkez ever since he joined, with the Hungarian seen as the future, although recent performances could see him watch from afar for a little while.
As well as this, Robertson rejected a move to Atletico this summer and instead chose to stick around until at least the end of his current deal, with this now his chance to prove it was the right decision.
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His opportunities have been limited but his professionalism has remained as high as ever, with the left-back being rewarded by becoming Liverpool’s vice captain.
Now, he can prove himself on the pitch against a club who were very keen to sign him in the transfer window, suggesting it is written in the stars for ‘Robbo’ to play a blinder.
His minutes for the Reds have been few and far between, but when he came on against Burnley, he really was one of the better players on the pitch.
Liverpool fans loved Robertson’s performance as he looked back to his best, or at least a lot closer than he was to it last season, suggesting he is not going down without a fight.
And, when playing for Scotland during the international break, he played a full 90 minutes in both of their games, with the national media labelling him as ‘terrific’.
If anyone deserves a run out and a chance to prove themselves, it is Robertson, and this game against the Spanish giants could not have come at a better time.