MY ACCOUNT
Andy Robertson insists Liverpool had no concerns over Darwin Nunez after the Uruguayan hit four goals in a pre-season thrashing of RB Leipzig, as he urged fans to be patient with the Reds’ new striker.
Jurgen Klopp defended Darwin from criticism after he failed to score in Liverpool’s first two pre-season outings, but the new recruit put in a terrific performance against the Bundesliga outfit.
The former Benfica striker scored four times after coming on as a half-time substitute in a 5-0 win in Germany, including a hat-trick within 20 minutes of entering the action.
Speaking to the club’s website after that victory, Robertson urged patience as the €75million arrival settles in on Merseyside.
“It always takes time to get used to new signings. We’ve all been through it ourselves, so it’s no different,” the left-back said.
“Maybe there’s outside pressure on him in terms of the fee and everything like that, but to us it doesn’t matter. People have come in on small fees, big fees, it doesn’t matter.
“We know they have to take time to get used to our system, get used to our style of play, to get used to how we want them to play and things like that.
“He’s adapting, he’s getting fitter, he’s getting stronger – like all of us are in pre-season – and he needs time to adapt. Today will do him a world of good. Today will give him a lot of confidence in terms of in front of goal and everything, which is obviously so important for a striker.
“So, [we’re] delighted about that and we don’t have any worries about him. It’s just about having a bit of time with him, having a bit of patience, and we’ve got that and hopefully the Liverpool fans have it as well.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s latest pre-season outing came on the fifth anniversary of Robertson joining in an £8million move from Hull City.
Robertson has made 161 Premier League appearances for Liverpool since joining, a tally only bettered by Mohamed Salah (180), Sadio Mane (169) and Roberto Firmino (165) in that time, while only Salah (46) has bettered his tally of 45 league assists since July 2017.
Looking back on his five years at Anfield, the Scotland international expressed pride at following in the footsteps of compatriots such as Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness in winning silverware at Liverpool, as he targeted bringing up a decade with the club.
“On that day it was a huge honour for me to sign for the club,” he recalled. “A lot of people said that the club don’t really win stuff without Scottish players, so obviously when I signed then I wanted to achieve it.
“We’ve obviously got a long history of Scottish players playing for this club, legends in their own right, and the fact I can be a part of this club, it meant a lot that day and it still means a lot now. So, hopefully many more years to come.
“Five years have flown by. It felt like yesterday that I was signing and it’s crazy that that time has passed. I’m a wee bit older, a wee bit wiser now, certainly look a bit older now than the day I signed!
“It’s amazing playing for this club, I don’t want it to end, I want it to continue for as many years as I can. But five years is incredible but now I look to the next five. I’m always one to look forward and hopefully we can achieve a lot more things.”
