Liverpool‘s Andrew Robertson once revealed that he regrets his behavior towards Lionel Messi in a UCL semi-final second-leg game between the Reds and Barcelona. The Scottish left-back also revealed that his attitude against La Pulga is not a reflection of his personality off the pitch.
Having lost the first leg 3-0 to Barcelona in the semi-final in the 2018-19 Champions League term, Liverpool needed a comeback in the reverse fixture. In the first minute of the returning encounter, Robertson and Fabinho tackled Lionel Messi towards the cliff of the box.
Cuneyt Cakir, who was the referee of the encounter, didn’t blow the whistle for a foul on Messi, and play continued. Robertson then went further to quiver Messi’s hair and slightly pushed his head.
La Pulga, who was sitting on turf, partially raised his hand in shock, but the referee didn’t witness the situation as play had already continued.
Reflecting on the incident in an interview with the Daily Mail in 2020, Robertson said (via GOAL):
He continued:
However, two goals each from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum were enough to secure a 4-0 victory for Liverpool. Thus, the Reds won the semi-final against Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate.
The Merseyside-based club also went further to win the final of the 2018-19 UCL final against Tottenham Hotspur (2-0).
Earlier this year, Andrew Robertson revealed that Arne Slot was clear about winning trophies from his first meeting with the squad. He also added that Slot seemed to be a manager who might not be happy with a top-four Premier League finish.
In an interview, the left-back revealed (via GOAL):
Eventually, Slot guided the Reds as they won the 2024-25 Premier League title in his first managerial season. The Reds won the title with a decent margin, having registered 84 points from 38 games.
A Manchester United fan who grew up in a family of Red Devils supporters, he started his journey as an ardent football fan in his childhood. He used to spend hours watching the sport with his family and developed a knack for writing about the beautiful game over the years.
He is a huge admirer of Paul Pogba owing to the midfielder’s ability to thread passes from anywhere on the pitch and his favorite manager is Jose Mourinho due to the Portuguese’s tactical mind. He feels France’s triumph in 2018 is his all-time favorite World Cup moment, and reckons Lamine Yamal and Endrick could replicate the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Abel always strives to verify information, especially statistics, before penning a word and offers constructive but not defamatory criticisms. Apart from Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the Eredivisie and the Primeira Liga. He loves to spend his free time playing video games like EA FC and watching movies.
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