Sport
Liverpool: Andy Robertson’s intriguing battle with Kostas Tsimikas for left-back role
Andy Robertson will face real competition at left-back in Liverpool's starting XI for the first time since joining the club seven years ago. Former substitute Kostas Tsimikas shows that he can take the leading role.
The Scotland international's only real battle for the left-back spot at Anfield came early in his Reds career, when he initially acted as back-up to Alberto Moreno in the first incarnation of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.
Robertson had been bought from relegated Hull City for £10 million in July 2017, although Liverpool initially had Monaco's Benjamin Mendy and AS Roma's Emerson Palmieri at numbers 1 and 2 respectively on their target shortlist, with the club's former head , Dr Ian Graham. , which showed that he had his doubts about the player.
“I really wasn't sure about Robertson's defense when he arrived,” Graham recalled, only for Mendy to join Man City while Emerson was injured, meaning the Reds instead moved to third name on moved the list.
After patiently waiting for his chance in the first team, Robertson's big break came when Moreno was injured in December 2017. The Scot grabbed it with both hands – and hasn't looked back since.
In the intervening period, the 30-year-old has won virtually every piece of silverware a player can win in a club career, all the while racking up the most assists by a defender in Premier League history, level with his teammate on 59 and full-back on the opposite flank at Anfield, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He also scored crucial goals, including the late equalizer on the way to an astonishing 2-1 win at Aston Villa in November 2019, as Liverpool's march to a first league title in three decades gained unstoppable momentum.
Meanwhile, his cuff to the back of Lionel Messi's head during the unlikely Champions League semi-final comeback win against Barcelona at Anfield in May 2019 was for many the symbol of 'Robbo', the combative Glaswegian who always has a point to prove .
Last September, Robertson even captained Liverpool as they came from behind to win 3-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He scored their second goal late in the match – one of eleven goals he scored in total for the Reds – a sign of his growing influence off the pitch. at the club as part of the Reds' leadership group.
On the pitch, however, it is not too much to suggest that he and Alexander-Arnold redefined the role of full-back under Klopp, especially in the early 'heavy metal' part of the German reign when, according to Graham, 'the was Jurgen who said: 'My wing-backs have to attack, we can come in for his defence'' when assessing options for the left-back role in the summer of 2017.
And boy did the duo attack, perhaps best seen with Liverpool's second goal in their 3-1 win against Man City at Anfield in November 2019, when Alexander-Arnold's pinpoint pass across the pitch released Robertson into space past the left flank and from his inch-point center, Mohamed Salah stooped to head home at the far post.
Durability, meanwhile, has been another key feature of the left-back's time at Liverpool, until last season when he dislocated his shoulder playing for his country in a Euro 2024 qualifier in Spain in October, opening the door for Tsimakas to to enjoy his longest life. first team since joining the club in August 2020 – only for the Greek to break his collarbone against Arsenal two months later.
When Robertson finally returned to action at the end of January, he suffered a serious ankle injury playing for Scotland in March, but continued to play through the pain as Liverpool chased down a historic quadruple and Scotland entered the European Championship.
As a result, the defender crucially missed the start of new head coach Arne Slot's inaugural pre-season, including the Dutchman's first games in charge of the Reds on their US tour, meaning he was out of action both from a physical has always been playing catch-up from a tactical point of view. since.
So much so that Tsimikas has been credited for Liverpool's Champions League matches with AC Milan, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, the Carabao Cup tie with West Ham United and the Premier League meetings at Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion this season. a marked change from previous seasons, when he acted solely as Robertson's understudy.
The Scot has also been closely involved. Slot has led the first six league matches and 15 in all competitions this season, although not without problems with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville observing in Liverpool's victory against Chelsea in October: “There's something that's not quite right. about Robertson in these first fifteen minutes or so”, while he was also at fault for Arsenal's opening goal in the 2–2 draw at the Emirates later that month.
However, it was indicative that the new manager returned to Robertson before the international break for their most recent meeting with Aston Villa at Anfield, when he put in perhaps his best performance of the season so far.
And the Dutchman himself certainly doesn't seem too concerned about the dilemma. He explains his drops and substitutions as merely a result of the player's shortened pre-season: “I think his current situation is what you can expect when a player misses pre-season and a new manager comes in, you miss quite a lot.
“When it comes to us, you have to go into a program where you have missed the basics tactically [a new management team]and also physically. It's not a big surprise that he doesn't play all the games because I think he was only on the pitch for three or four days before playing the second friendly in our stadium. [against Las Palmas on August 11].”
However, Slot asks different things from his wing-backs than the attack-oriented philosophy of his predecessor, meaning we are far less likely to read quotes like this from then Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho after a 3-1 defeat at Anfield.
“I still get tired when I look at Robertson. He makes 100-metre sprints every minute, absolutely incredible, and these are qualities,” the Portuguese said after his last match in charge of United in December 2018.
In fact, Robertson is far more likely to be found as an auxiliary centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate when Alexander-Arnold pushes into midfield (as we saw happen last season) than bombarding the left wing while Slot opts for caution over chaos.
However, it is also important to recognize Tsimikas' own impressive form, which has made it a lot harder for Slot to ignore the Greek's first-team claims.
The 28-year-old has never let Liverpool down when called upon over the last four years. He held his nerve to convert the winning penalty in the penalty shootout against Chelsea that decided the 2022 FA Cup final, before creating the dramatic late winner for Van Dijk in last season's Carabao Cup final against the same opponent .
With his left foot, Tsimikas has always been a threat going forward, as evidenced by his big chances in numbers this season – he set up Van Dijk's equalizer at San Siro in September and also stood out offensively in England's recent victory in Athens But he has also been very strong at the back this season, which is again evident from figures such as goals conceded and interceptions.
All this means that the 'Greek Scouser', as Tsimikas has become affectionately known on Merseyside, is now no longer just a back-up to Robertson, but a viable and reliable option on the left side of Liverpool's defence.
However, when it comes to knowing who Slot's true first choice is, the proof will lie in the manager's selection choices, as he himself recently admitted when asked the same question.
“My line-up tells you what I think about this,” he said, and who the Reds boss chooses to start in the big Premier League match with Man City at Anfield on December 1 – live on Sky Sports – will be revealing.
In reality, with Liverpool due to test a number of matches in three different competitions over the next month (they host European champions Real Madrid four days before Pep Guardiola's visit to Anfield), both players are likely to get plenty of first-team action as the team continues to compete on several fronts.
But for now, let's just say that reports of 'Robbo's' demise are highly exaggerated.
