Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Nothing has been won yet – Robertson
LIVERPOOL defender Andrew Robertson insists that a first Premier League defeat of the season by rivals Manchester City will not be decisive in the title race.
A narrow 2-1 loss at rivals City ended the Reds’ 20-match unbeaten league start and cut their lead at the top of the table to four points.
However, manager Jurgen Klopp said after the match he would have paid good money to be four points clear having played City twice already in the season, and Robertson said nothing had altered the players’ perspective.
“It doesn’t change anything. It is just the same if we had won,” said the Scotland captain. “It would have been nice to have been ten points clear of them and nine points above Tottenham, but we wouldn’t have won it (the title).
“We have not lost it. They’re obviously delighted (seeing) their reaction at the end, but they’ve not won it either. We will fight right to the death. They’ve closed the gap, but it is all about how we react.
“It is a new experience for all of us. We can use that to our advantage and we’ll look forward to the games ahead now.”
Robertson and Virgil Van Dijk were arguably Liverpool’s two best players on a frustrating night at the Etihad, with the game influenced by fractions in three incidents.
In the first half, Sadio Mane hit the post and then saw the rebound not cross the goalline by just 11 millimetres, while Vincent Kompany was only booked for a shin-high tackle on Mohamed Salah which could easily have been a red card.
After after the break, Leroy Sane’s shot cannoned off the other post of the same goal and went in for the winning goal.
“I saw the picture of the one were Sadio hit the post and then the deflection – it was millimetres, but they’re the fine margins,” Robertson added. “If that goes in it might have been a completely different game. But they then scored before halftime and we needed to bounce back, which we did.
“I thought we were controlling the game at that point, but we just left ourselves that wee bit too open and a team like City punish you.
“Credit goes to them, but we are still four points clear at that is what we have got to remember.”
Van Dijk insists Liverpool will bounce back from defeat in a Premier League season which has been one huge upward curve and they remain calm about what the result means for their chances of ending a 29-year wait for the title.
He said: “We just have to keep going. We will focus on recovering and get ready for the next game.”