A Liverpool full-back endured a chastening afternoon against Manchester United on Sunday, with defensive shakiness, struggles going forward and brittle confidence all ruthlessly exposed.
Yet while the majority of scrutiny at Anfield fell on right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, his counterpart on the left, Andy Robertson, also endured a difficult afternoon.
The Scotland international has been one of Liverpool’s most consistent performers in the last decade, integral to the team’s transformation under Jurgen Klopp and a strong, selfless leader in the dressing room. Yet the question has to be asked: is he now in decline?
The noise around his form began to get louder following poor performances against Chelsea and Arsenal in October, reaching such a pitch that Robertson himself could not ignore it.
After the victory over Aston Villa in November, in which he delivered an excellent display, he told reporters: “Last couple of games I’ve been on the bench and I got doubters for the first time in a long time. First time at this club. But it suits me. I am trying to prove people wrong again.
“I am a lot older and a lot wiser now than when I first came here. I have been here for seven years and won everything, played in a lot of big games. I am a lot more experienced and a lot better at switching off from everything like overreactions and things like that. People can write me off all they want. But I will always try to keep working, keep improving.”
Andy Robertson is determined to prove he is not in decline (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Nobody is doubting Robertson’s attitude, or his determination to regain his old levels. The problem is that fine performances like the one against Villa have not been sustained over a prolonged period.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the Manchester United game, Jamie Carragher described Robertson as “hanging on”. It felt like a harsh assessment of a player who has been so instrumental to Liverpool’s success since his arrival in 2017, yet there is growing evidence that Robertson is often implicated when Liverpool concede goals or big chances.
The goals Liverpool conceded against Leicester and for Manchester United’s second were very similar. While bones can be picked about defensive issues before Robertson’s involvement, he is beaten to the ball by his opponent on both occasions.
Against Leicester, Jordan Ayew used his strength to hold off the left-back and shoot. A deflection was required to take it past goalkeeper Alisson, but Robertson should have done more to prevent him from being able to control the ball and turn.
For Amad’s goal on Sunday, Robertson again allowed the attacker to get across him. Amad met Alejandro Garnacho’s low cross, with Robertson unable to then get tight enough to clear the ball or block the shot.
These were not isolated errors, however. Robertson has conceded penalties against Real Madrid and Southampton, while he was sent off against Fulham for a poor touch that led to him fouling Harry Wilson. There was an element of bad luck with the latter two decisions — the Southampton penalty was right on the edge of the area, and the sending-off a debatable denial of a goalscoring opportunity — but mistakes are creeping into his game.
Against Fulham and Tottenham he was caught underneath crosses that led to goals scored by Andreas Pereira and Dominic Solanke respectively, and he was fortunate that a careless loss of possession in the early stages of the victory over West Ham went unpunished.
There are some extenuating circumstances. Robertson spent the end of last season and the European Championship nursing an ankle injury sustained while on international duty in March. While he was able to play on, he did not feature on Liverpool’s pre-season U.S. tour due to the problem. That meant he began the new campaign being rotated with Kostas Tsimikas.
Tsimikas’ recent absence with his own ankle injury sustained at the end of November, and the lack of specialist cover at left-back, has also left Slot unable to rotate. Robertson has been asked to play a lot of minutes consecutively — he only missed the Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Southampton — since his team-mate suffered the injury, not easy for a player who turns 31 in March.
Arne Slot may need to turn his attention to left-back this summer (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
According to Fbref.com, Robertson’s defensive stats have only suffered minor drop-offs compared with previous seasons — the exception being a fairly significant drop in blocks per 90 from 1.1 to 0.3.
Robertson only won one of his four duels (25 per cent) against Manchester United, but his duel success rate in the Premier League is a respectable 51.5 per cent. It is only a small decline from last season (51.8 per cent) and an improvement on 2022-23 (47.8 per cent).
Where there is a more notable decline is in the impact Robertson is having in possession. Having registered at least 10 assists in four out of five seasons between 2018 and 2022, he only managed two in 2023-24, and is on one in 25 appearances in all competitions this term.
He is still contributing in possession through carrying the ball forward and making overlapping runs to try and create space for Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz. However, his 0.16 expected assists per 90 is the lowest it has been since he arrived at Anfield and a significant slump from last season.
Robertson’s Premier League xA per90
| Season | xA per 90 |
|---|---|
|
2017-18 |
0.19 |
|
2018-19 |
0.2 |
|
2019-20 |
0.22 |
|
2020-21 |
0.17 |
|
2021-22 |
0.2 |
|
2022-23 |
0.21 |
|
2023-24 |
0.29 |
|
2024-25 |
0.16 |
A key reason for that is the decrease in the number of crosses Robertson is supplying. Last season he was delivering 4.7 open-play crosses per game, and successfully completing 1.1. That has almost halved to 2.7 crosses this season with 0.8 successfully completed.
Robertson’s numbers are slipping as the seasons go by (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
Robertson remains a fine full-back and he can still play a part for Liverpool as they attempt to navigate their way to a second league title since 1990, but if things continue to trend in this direction then a more reduced role has to be considered.
Having two senior left-backs makes it unlikely that Liverpool recruit a replacement in January, but there is no hiding from the fact it has to be viewed as a priority position in the medium-term.
With his contract running out in June 2026, there will also be a question about whether this summer is the right time to cash in. Equally, it would not be a surprise to see Robertson given a fond farewell after the final home game of 2025-26.
By then, Liverpool would have been able to recruit the next Andy Robertson and allow him to learn from the best.
(Top photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
