After many years of yearning for a top class left-back, Liverpool fans have been truly spoilt by Andy Robertson’s prowess.
Robertson, who was signed from Hull for a paltry £8million in 2017, has established himself as one of the world’s best in his position.
Along with Trent Alexander-Arnold, he’s transformed the meaning of what’s expected of a full-back in a formidable Liverpool side that’s won the Premier League and Champions League in recent seasons.
Off the pitch he’s also been a credit, earning the ‘working class hero’ nickname thanks to his voluntary work at Liverpool’s foodbank in Christmas 2018 and he’s also shown he’s a great character through various projects with the club’s media channels.
But amid all that joking around and noble work, there’s a darkness to his character that often surfaces during Reds matches.
talkSPORT.com has identified a few memorable occasions that’s endeared Robertson, who’s developed something of a penchant for a good old bit of what some might call ‘s***housery’, to Liverpool fans.
Run Robbo, run!
Robertson didn’t slot into Liverpool’s starting XI straight away. Alberto Moreno was initially preferred by Jurgen Klopp (yes, really).
But an injury to the Spaniard gave the Scot his big chance and he never looked back. However, the moment Robertson really arrived as a Liverpool player was during a 4-3 win over Manchester City in January 2018.
A classic Premier League encounter saw goals from all angles fly in but it was a run from Robertson that got the Anfield crowd bouncing like they’d just put a fifth past Pep Guardiola’s side.
It started on the halfway line as Robertson looked to dispossess Bernardo Silva. The ball was played back to Kyle Walker, then John Stones, then Ederson and then played forward to Nicolas Otamendi.
Robertson’s incessant chasing of the ball was the constant in that flurry which was eventually ended by his overzealous tackle on Otamendi but it was the perfect example of a solo Geggenpress.
He also had a little nibble at former Liverpool player Raheem Sterling earlier in the match which went down well with the Reds faithful.
A year ago today this man became a Red…
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 21, 2018
Who could forget THAT Andy Robertson 70-yard gut-busting press!!pic.twitter.com/1rOeKbKU1U
Messi-ing with his head
Every Liverpool fan knows where they were during that incredible 4-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League final.
The likes of goalscorers Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum will get the plaudits, as will Trent Alexander-Arnold for his cheeky corner which led to Origi’s winner but what Robertson did early doors was crucial in setting the tone for a miserable night for Barca.
It may not have been the most legal move but when both Robertson and Lionel Messi were both felled by Fabinho’s firm tackle on the Argentine, the Liverpool defender gave the great man’s head a sneaky shove while as play resumed.
Robertson has since come out and said he regrets doing it but given the way the Barcelona players played the match in a trance that night, it had the desired effect.
Smirker
Robertson didn’t complete that match having been forced off at half time with an injury from a clash with Messi’s teammate and close friend Luis Suarez.
When quizzed about the clash, a triumphant Robertson said after Liverpool’s famous win: “Who’s going to the final?”
But it was a smirk Robertson unleashed as journalist Des Kelly was asking his question that made it one of the iconic on-pitch interviews.
Don’t push it
This one is contentious. To the naked eye, it looks like Ayoze Perez has massively overreacted to Robertson celebrating Liverpool’s late win over Leicester in October 2019.
But on closer inspection, it appears Robertson brushed the side of the Leicester forward in one of the more subtle cases of ‘s***housery.’
What happened next was very clear to see – Perez pushed Robertson with what looked like everything he had and an huge brawl involving pretty much every player from both sides ensued.
Not even VAR could conclusively call whether Robertson was the aggressor though.
Revenge
Liverpool fans love him because he’s got the back of his boys, too – any time and any place.
After Sadio Mane was incredibly denied a free-kick in stoppage-time of the 2019 Club World Cup final, he had a little bit of afters with Flamengo player Rafinha after the final whistle.
Before extra-time started, Robertson was filmed reassuring Mane that he’d get the Brazilian.
And Robertson showed he’s a man of his word when he pushed the former Bayern Munich man to the ground off the ball, a good couple of seconds after he Rafinha played a pass. Lovely stuff.
Ronaldo
Robertson hasn’t shied away from confronting Messi in the past, so he’d definitely have no issue with giving it to Cristiano Ronaldo.
After Ronaldo’s naughty kick out at teammate Curtis Jones, Robertson was straight over to let the Manchester United star the error of his ways.
Later, when Mohamed Salah put Liverpool 5-0 up, Robertson was heard urging his teammates to show no mercy on their arch-rivals.
