All smiles: PSG duo Neymar and Kylian Mbappe share a joke as they prepare to kick off their bid for European glory against Liverpool at Anfield tonight
Stylish football is all well and good... but it’s all about winning trophies at Liverpool SAYS ANDY ROBERTSON
WITH a net summer spend of £147million, it was hardly unreasonable to expect a marked improvement in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool this season.
In English football, however, a direct correlation between the lavishing of such vast sums of money on a team and tangible success is not always evident.
To that end, the German deserves no little credit for the blue-chip acquisitions that have helped his side glean maximum points from their opening five league matches to give talk of a genuine title challenge credence once again.
Both Alisson, the £65m signing from Roma, and Naby Keita, who arrived from RB Leipzig for £53m, played in the belief-affirming win over Tottenham on Saturday. Xherdan Shaqiri has played his part since his £13m switch from Stoke, while Monaco’s £40m man Fabinho is expected to follow suit once he is up to the speed with the demands of the English game.
Without a league title in 28 years, and having not seen any silverware since the 2012 League Cup, however, the time for plaudits over the Anfield side’s artistic merit is over.
‘It is all well and good being great entertainers — but you need to win trophies and be challenging for the league,’ said Andy Robertson ahead of tonight’s Champions League opener against Paris Saint-Germain.
‘We hope to do that this season, but nothing has really unfolded yet.
‘It is a long season and plenty can happen but, hopefully, this will be a successful season for us.’
For all the capturing of a 19th league title has long been an obsession, this is the horse Liverpool badly wanted to jump back on in Kiev on May 26.
Goalless at the break against Real Madrid, Klopp’s men fell behind in infamous circumstances when Loris Karius’ casual throw was hooked into an empty net by Karim Benzema.
Level four minutes later through Sadio Mane, the Reds’ hopes of a sixth European Cup ended through two Gareth Bale interventions; the first, a sublime overhead kick, the second, another desperate goalkeeping error.
A tearful, broken figure at the end, Karius was shipped out on loan to Besiktas, with the acquisition of a more dependable figure like Alisson a top priority.
While the prospect of redemption in Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium next year remains a long way off, there is nothing to say it cannot happen.
The free-spending Parisians, now under the tutelage of Klopp’s fellow German Thomas Tuchel, will have something to say about that. Napoli and Red Star Belgrade complete the line-up in Group C.
‘It was a bittersweet ending to last season, but the Champions League was great for all of us, so we want do something similar and even go one better this time round,’ added Robertson.
‘PSG is a tough start because they are a top team, but we believe we are a top team, as well.
‘If you are going to go far in this competition and win the trophy, then you have to play a lot of great teams along the way.
‘Our group is difficult. PSG at home is a tough test, but I’m sure they will be looking at us and thinking the same.
‘They are a good team, but we are confident of being able to get off on the right footing.’
If, indeed, you do learn more about yourself in defeat than in victory, that night in Ukraine — as well as heady encounters with Manchester City, Porto and Roma — will be grist to the mill.
‘We have learned a lot about ourselves as a group, as individuals and as a club,’ said Robertson.
‘What happened last season has brought us all closer together and made us even hungrier for success.
‘We have quality throughout the team and the squad.
‘I feel I have improved massively training and playing with those players every day.’
Even amid the likes of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Mane, Robertson’s supreme talent is conspicuous.
A bona fide Kop hero these days, Alex McLeish’s choice of the Glaswegian as the new Scotland captain was met with no resistance.
‘Getting the captaincy has been a good thing for me, it’s an honour,’ said the 24-year-old.
‘The manager (Klopp) texted me straight away when he heard the news. He was delighted for me and said that in a nice message.
‘He always follows everyone when they are away with their national team.’
It is a matter of public record, though, that despite sanctioning his purchase from Hull for an initial £8m, the German was not immediately sold on the Scot.
This time last year, Robertson was the understudy to Alberto Moreno. In a typical forthright manner, he asked Klopp to detail exactly what he had to do to reverse that order.
Having ticked each box to become a mainstay of the side, the bond of trust they share is now apparent.
‘He is a world-class manager and everyone buys into what he’s saying and how he wants us to play,’ said Robertson. ‘How he is off the pitch is the same as how he is behind the scenes.
‘It’s not a front for the telly, that’s him and he will be like that forever. He is a fantastic man-manager.
‘He has great enthusiasm, so, if there are any low points, he’s there to lift us and get us going again.’
Still awaiting his first trophy at the club, Klopp needs to take that final step to validate himself as Liverpool’s manager.
The prospect of Robertson going through his entire career without standing on a winner’s podium seems unlikely but, naturally, it’s something he would prefer to do sooner rather than later.
Given the choice, though, would the new Scotland skipper forgo such a success with his club to be the first man in two decades to lead his country to a major finals?
‘The Champions League is huge, but it’s a massive honour to play for Scotland,’ he added. ‘I haven’t played for Scotland in a tournament, so I can’t really answer in terms of which is bigger. Hopefully, I’ll be able to answer that one in future.’