Andy Robertson’s career has had an eventful week.
On Tuesday, the left-back assisted two England players for goals – one agonizing, one hilarious – as Scotland fell to the Auld Enemy 3-1 at Hampden.
With Virgil van Dijk suspended and Trent Alexander-Arnold injured, he was given the captain’s armband for the first time on Saturday at Wolverhampton Wanderers, marking his 200th Premier League game for Liverpool.
While the absence of Alexander-Arnold could have resulted in a more traditional 4-3-3 formation that would have played to Robertson’s talents, the Reds persisted with the box-midfield strategy, with Joe Gomez serving as an odd hybrid right-back.
It didn’t work, as Jurgen Klopp’s side flailed poorly in a frightening first half that brought back flashbacks of their previous visit to Molineux. They were fortunate to be only 1-0 behind at halftime.
With Liverpool having lost only two of 22 matches since that humiliating 3-0 defeat in February, this was always going to be a barometer of their great start to the season, not least because it was another early kick-off following an international break, much to Klopp’s dismay.
The hangover was palpable. Robertson was overworked on the left, aided by Diogo Jota in front of him and handicapped by a sluggish midfield, while Gomez was given the runaround by the outstanding Pedro Neto on the opposite wing.
However, tactical and personnel changes made during the break proved extremely helpful, especially for Robertson. With the lively Luis Diaz occupying the Wolves backline and Liverpool playing an excellent 4-4-2 shape, the Scot began to make an impression moving forward.
And it was Robertson who put the Reds ahead five minutes from the end of normal time, controlling a clearance just inside the Wolves half, feeding the ball out wide right to Mohamed Salah, and then continuing his run into the area to slot home the Egyptian’s low cross.
Klopp stated last month that he didn’t know what the limit of his new-look Liverpool was and that there would be bumps in the road for the foreseeable future.
This, however, was another difficult test that the Reds survived, returning them to the top of the Premier League for the first time in more than 16 months. And it was a perfect end to a successful afternoon for Robertson.