TLW

Jürgen Klopp has put the officials on notice for tonight’s second leg last 16 Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid.The manager knows his team has to play a lot better than three weeks ago to get the desired result which will see the defending champions progress to the quarter-finals.But he also expects the officials to be exceptionally strong in what will undoubtedly be a testing fixture for all concerned.There will be no surprises in the way the visitors will look to slow the pace of the game at any opportunity with their ‘dark arts" tactics frustrating their opponents in the process.Speaking ahead of the crunch clash, Klopp left no one in any doubt on what he expects to see and how it should be dealt with.The Mirror reported the manager as saying:“To ensure your best players stay on for 90 minutes? Yeah, that would help 100 per cent. “In a similar situation in the second game probably wouldn’t do the same.“You need always a referee who is aware of situations like this, we cannot do it by ourselves. “We expect a really 'experienced' performance from Atletico, let me say that.” The main instance of Klopp’s frustration after the first leg came from the treatment of Sadio Mane who had to be withdrawn at half time due to the fact the Senegal star was on a yellow card and Atletico were actively trying to get him a second booking.“Sadio did nothing wrong, absolutely nothing, and I still thought in the next situation it will be like this.“If it was always that easy for you to get out the best player of the opponent then there is something wrong with the game.“If the player does nothing wrong but it's still possible....Wow! Everyone (from Atletico) runs against his elbow or whatever (to feign injury) - that should not happen. Speaking about the game as a contest, Klopp firmly expects his team to outplay the their opponents but be smart the way they go about it.“There is another area of football where we can be better, better than the first game and better than Atletico but we have to show that.“We need higher speed in different moments, better switches in different moments, we need braver football in different moments, we need to play around the formation, behind the formation, play through the gaps.“If you play predictable Atletico's defence will go for the next six months without (a problem).“If you prepare situations where it is not that easy to defend the more often you are in situations where you can score and that's what we have to do.“If you are afraid of going out you cannot play with freedom and we need this freedom. We need to play free.“Knowing they are really good at defending, defend their counter attacks, get the ball back, use the space they create in this moment.“There are a lot of opportunities for us but against a quality team they are difficult to find. “But we know about them at least and now we have to make sure we can show them as well.”From a players point of view, Andy Robertson says keeping their discipline is paramount."It is frustrating at times but it is not going to change. “It is up to the referee to deal with it.“We can’t get annoyed at things we can’t control. “If we do that it gives us the best chance to perform at the highest level. “Hopefully we can stay calm and create chances.” View full article

Mo Salah has been labeled the best Liverpool signing of the past decade after scoring his 70th goal in just 100 appearances for the club on Saturday against Bournemouth.Former Reds star Danny Murphy said that the club have made their fair share of fine signings during the past ten years but for him, the Egyptian superstar stood out from the pack.The Mirror via Talksport reported Murphy as saying:“Mo Salah is a unique player.“To score this many goals so quickly from that wide position is sensational.“To compare him to strikers is difficult because he doesn’t play centrally, but to achieve what he has so quickly from a wide role is a better achievement than what any of the strikers at Liverpool have achieved.“He’s probably been as good a buy for Liverpool as anyone over the last ten years.“I know Luis Suarez was sensational, but Salah’s consistency and his durability as well, he very rarely misses games.“And he’s so unassuming, he goes about his business so under-the-radar. He’s not flash, he doesn’t do any silly provocative celebrations, he just keeps banging in goals." There is a theory about that despite his outstanding exploits, Salah is not as adored by the fanbase as his counterparts in Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.However Murphy tends to disagree.“The love for Mo Salah is there – I just think it’s subsided a bit due to Mane’s brilliance this season, and Firmino, too.“But ultimately when, or if, Mo Salah leaves Liverpool he’s going to be remembered not just because he’s a wonderful goalscorer but because he’s been part of this team that has won the Premier League after 30 years and has won the Champions League.“That’s why he’ll be remembered. “All the goals only matter if something comes at the end of it.” View full article

James Milner says he is just interested in what he can do to help the side after his Man of the match performance in Liverpool’s 2-1 win against Bournemouth on Saturday.The versatile veteran produced one of his trademark tireless performances filling in for Andy Robertson at left-back as the Reds responded after two defeats on the bounce and move ever closer to raising the Premier League trophy.As ever, Milner brushed off the individual acclaim of his performance as the Mirror reported:"That is not really my character. I prefer to go under the radar.“Recognition from the outside doesn’t really interest me. “As long as I am doing what I can to help this team, playing or not, on or off the field, that’s the important thing.“Every player has strengths and has a massive impact on the squad.“You are looking right down to third-fourth choice goalkeepers like Lonners (Andy Lonergan) and what an impact he has around the squad and how well he trains every day.“Everyone, if we achieve something this year, will have contributed to that. “I am lucky enough that I have played a lot of seasons and I have seen a lot of things and hopefully I can help the boys on that side."Milner says that the run of outstanding results over the past two seasons have come on the back of Jürgen Klopp’s insatiable appetite for hard work.“He is the leader of the ship and he has turned us into a fantastic team and he never lets us rest."We have to keep pushing and improving. “If there is one day in training when it is not right you get a rocket and it is not good enough. But the boys are very good at that as well.“The manager sets that tone and the boys are good at marshalling it. “If someone misses a day in the gym or they are late for something or not pulling their weight they get pulled up on it.” Much was made of Liverpool’s dip after a remarkable run of form.But the straight-talking veteran says you have to enjoy the highs and ride out the bumpy times and spoke about personal experiences along with those of fellow athletes. “Those are the standards we have set, so when it happens to us, all hell breaks loose."What the team has done this season has been unbelievable.“No sportsman can go a four-year cycle to the Olympics and be at the top. “They try to peak. It’s the same with football. You are top level all the time.“There is always going to be a spell and it is how you deal with it, while still getting results.“You can win the league and you can drop points in a few games but to win this many games is not normal and people then start thinking it is easy."But every time we win a game it's 'Get the music on in the dressing room, enjoy it', because it is not easy to win Premier League games and there is going to be a point where it is very hard to win a game."I have been there. I have been relegated (with Leeds in 2004) and you think it is just an impossible task to win a game of football."So you have to remember how hard it is and how competitive the Premier League is and every time you are not at that level you are going to get found out so we have to keep performing and keep pushing." View full article

Liverpool broke a near-on 50 year record in their hard fought 2-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday with their 22nd consecutive win at Anfield.Despite the outstanding achievement, Jürgen Klopp was keen to distance himself with comparisons between himself and the man who was in charge of that side in 1972.The one and only Bill Shankly.ESPN reported the manager as saying:"Great, I think it was 22 [consecutive home wins] today. "We didn't think about the number before the game, but after the game we can think about it for a couple of minutes. "It's nice. It's absolutely nice. It's special, not normal."“Oh yes, I will never compare with this fella (Shankly). While that may be the case, Klopp sits very comfortably at the table of legendary Liverpool managers and while his team hardly produced what you would call a vintage performance, it is one step closer to a long awaited title.The reaction of the German after the final whistle told a real story of how big the result was in the context of what had occurred in the previous few games and what lies ahead.“Today is an example: we have to fight hard. We are not geniuses, but we can really fight until the end of the season, and then we'll see what we get for it."The focus now switches to Wednesday evening and the challenge of overturning a 1-0 first leg deficit against Atletico.Klopp hinted at positive ness on the injury front in regards to the skipper.“Hendo was out, I don't know exactly in this moment, but I think he will train tomorrow. “If that looks good, I have to make a decision,"“For sure it will be good to have him back." View full article

Harry Wilson admits he will soon have to make a tough decision regarding the next step in his football career.The Welsh international’s star has been on the rise over the last two seasons as he was a pivotal part of Frank Lampard’s Derby side which fell agonisingly short of a Premier League return.While there was was talk that Jürgen Klopp may have seen fit to use him as part of the first team squad, the decision was made in the off-season for the midfielder to get some Premier League experience and that club was Bournemouth.While it has been a tough campaign for the south coast outfit, the 22 year-old has thrived in the step-up in class scoring seven goals in the league including a double against Tottenham and hitting the back of the net against local rivals Brighton and Southampton.The midfielder has really enjoyed the challenges which come with playing in one of the best leagues in World Football.However he knows how important the next step is. The Mirror reported Wilson as saying: “I feel I’ve got that decision to make in the summer.“This season has been really positive as well. “I’m finally in the Premier League which I’ve worked towards.“In the summer I’ll be concentrating on Wales, but once that’s done with I feel I may have a decision to make.Making the big step from under-age to senior football is always a daunting prospect for a youngster and Wilson was no different. “I’ve always had belief in myself. “My first loan spell I was 18. 'I went to Crewe, and I felt I’d scored all these goals for Liverpool’s youth teams and I’d go to League One and it would be the same.“I quickly found out that it wasn’t. It took me to come back, captain the U23 side for a year and a half to really get my confidence back.” "I was training with the first team day in, day out, but never getting in the squad. But he described the moment when things changed for him.“I went on loan to Hull and I felt my career really started.“It was a bit later than I’d expected, but I’m 22 and I’ve got over 100 appearances under my belt in men’s football and I’m in the Premier League where I’ve always wanted to be.” View full article

Virgil Van Dijk has little time for those individuals who want to poke holes in Liverpool’s season after a sticky run of form.While It is a fact that Liverpool have lost a bit of form losing three of their last four games in all competitions, they still find themselves in a exceptionally strong position in the league and all to play for against Atletico Madrid next Wednesday evening.Van Dijk wants no part of any negativity that may be in the footballing landscape at this present time.The Mirror reported The Dutchman as saying:“In life there are people who are never satisfied. “They are always looking for negative things. That’s the reality.“Either you go on with that negative spirit or you just focus on the good things – and I’m definitely focusing on the good things.“We are in a very good situation “Close to what we all hope to achieve. “Let’s just go for it, enjoy it. Let’s focus on ‘just’ the Premier League, because it’s very small, huh?”Another theory was that Liverpool were not really bothered whether they won or lost against Chelsea.Again Van Dijk was very strong in his response: “That’s stupid to say, in my opinion.“Every competition we play in, we want to win.“We showed that against Chelsea with the line-up and the way we kept going, the energy we put in. “We tried to do as much as possible to win the game.” View full article

Jurgen Klopp has sung the praises of right-back Neco Williams after the young Welsh star produced another strong performance on the big stage.The Reds crashed out of the FA Cup after losing 2-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.Williams was part of an experienced back four which included the first choice centre back of Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez pairing and Andy Robertson.Despite being the youngest member of the defence, the 18 year-old more than held his own which the manager was quick to notice.The Liverpool Echo reported Klopp as saying:“Neco played a super game tonight. "It showed we can have a second full-back coming which helps us massively for the future." The break-out star of the cup run by Liverpool has undoubtedly been Curtis Jones and while the fellow academy graduate of Williams found it tough going against vastly more experienced opponents, Klopp believed he would have learnt a great deal.“Curtis showed so many things tonight when people thought ‘wow, what a player’ then you lose the ball.“That’s a learning process. You can’t learn it at home in your living room, you have to learn it on the pitch and react to it.The loss was the third in four games, and the manager was asked the inevitable question whether he was concerned."I’m not worried about momentum. Momentum is not something you go and get and then just have it. “You can lose it but then you have to go and get it again.“We have always the chance to get it back. So I’m not concerned about momentum."We never thought it would be an easy season, period, game tonight; nothing. It was always difficult.“We did well tonight but we weren’t good enough. "The performance tonight was completely different from Watford.“Against Watford it was bad, but tonight was not bad. “That performance tonight I’m not concerned about, that’s football.” One thing that Klopp hasn’t given much thought to is the ramifications of the coronavirus come the last few months of the season.He said it is a topic an individual like him shouldn’t be talking about in a public forum.“What I don’t like in life is for a very serious thing, a football manager’s opinion is important.“I really don’t understand it. It’s not important what famous people say. “People with no knowledge like me talking about it, people with knowledge should be the ones telling people what to do.“Not football managers. I don’t understand politics, the coronavirus. Why me? I wear a baseball cap.“I’m concerned like everyone else. “I live on this planet and I want it to be safe and healthy, I wish everybody the best absolutely. “But my opinion on coronavirus is not important.” View full article

Dejan Lovren says that the humbling 3-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday evening was a performance that the players should learn from.While the performance on the day and end result was quite a shock for many football observers, in hindsight the performances in the lead-up to this fixture were not up to the high standard that the Reds had set for themselves.Lovren came into the side for Joe Gomez who was held out as a precautionary measure.Like many of his teammates, he had a match he would rather forget, losing a physical battle with Troy Deeney.Despite not playing much of late, It was clear to Lovren that things were not up to standard.The Echo reported the Croatian veteran as saying: “Right from the beginning until the end, it was missing the usual things that we have. “We deserved to lose. Maybe it is a wake-up call for us.“If you look back at the last couple of games, the result was there and we got the performance that we needed but… I think this was a proper wake-up call to everyone."I don’t want to say that it is good but you know what I mean? “It can be a benefit to help us get to the end of the season. We need to remember how it should be."Yes, we are nearly there [for the title] but the performance means [the assessment] was simple. “We didn’t deserve anything.” Despite the below-par performance, Lovren says that the players know exactly what is required to get back on track.“We are calm. Everyone knows it is something that we should learn from.“The manager looked at us when he came into the dressing room and he knew that we knew it wasn’t our best performance."We felt a little bit ashamed, you know? “We should have done better. There is no excuse for that performance."But Lovren said the end of the unbeaten streak will not define the group in the long term.“We know there is always an end for everything. "It is here where our unbeaten run ended. We will not look at this result and think it was a bad season because of losing here.“One performance won’t ruin everything. “But this is always a learning process. We look forward and until the end, we can still make this a perfect season, but it is a wake-up call.” View full article

Watford captain Troy Deeney said the Hornets specifically targeted stand-in central defender Dejan Lovren and those plans came to fruition in the Hornets shock 3-0 over Liverpool at Vicarage Road on Saturday evening which ended the Reds’ 44 game unbeaten run in the league.The Croatian came into the side with Joe Gomez out with what Jurgen Klopp described as a ‘minor issue.’With Virgil Van Dijk being the best defender in World Football at this present time, Deeney said it was only natural to look to Identify a weakness in the Liverpool defensive makeup.The Echo (via Sky Sports) reported the striker as saying:“Van Dijk is a class act and, for me, is probably in the top five defenders in the world. “It is tough to get anything from him; he is 6ft 6ins, fast and strong, so you try to pick on the weaker of the two.”Deeney said the defensive tactics of Lovren played into his hands. “I don't want to be disrespectful to Lovren and say he is the weaker of the two but I knew he wanted to fight me as well, and that is my game, so if you want to try and fight me you are going to have to be in for a tough night.“He did that for the first goal, trying to fight me for the throw-in and then I obviously rolled him and we scored.“He is trying to fight me instead of watching the ball and we scored." It was not just the figure of the burly veteran who was causing Jurgen Klopp headaches, but the extremely quick and skilful Senegalese winger Ismaila Sarr who was a star throughout scoring two goals and going close to what would have been a fine hat-trick.It was a very tough day at the office for the Reds with not many players covering themselves in glory.While the end result may have been a surprise especially for a team who had not been defeated in the league for well over a year and going for their 19th straight win this season, recent performances against Norwich, West Ham and Atletico Madrid pointed to the fact that Liverpool had certainly been under par since the winter break.While Jurgen Klopp has always maintained his side was unaffected by the outside noise, he did say that they could look ahead with a fresh mindset.“We were going to lose a game at some time, and we didn't wait for it but it was clear it would happen.“Tonight it happened and I see it rather positive that we got close to these records.“Now we can play free football again and don't have to try to get a record. “We just have to try to win football games again, and that's what we will do." View full article

Jurgen Klopp has given little credence to those individuals who are using any possible reason to downplay the achievements of Liverpool this season.The Reds are just four wins away from their first league triumph in three decades, and are on the verge of wrapping up the title in the quickest period of time in the modern era, currently holding a 22 point lead over Man City.But as recent games against relegation threatened sides such as Norwich and West Ham have shown, there is certainly no such thing as a easy win.The fact that this team has only dropped points once this campaign is remarkable, however there is a theory around that it is to do with the failings of their main rivals, not so much the overall strength of Liverpool.Speaking ahead of the game against Watford on Saturday evening, Klopp was having none of that.The Daily Mail reported the manager as saying:“I couldn't care less (what people say).“Look, it is completely normal. “I don't think that we should have any concern for things like this. If other people think like that – if they think City are not as good as they were – they ARE!“They have scored a little less goals than us, conceded a few more, and if you look why it is clear they have been missing some players. “The other teams are really strong too. “Yes, Bayern beat Tottenham and Chelsea [in the Champions League] but they are really strong over a season.“Yes, they (Spurs and Chelsea) have had some problems, that's all true. “But in the moment that you play them you don't feel that they have these problems.“The points they have, we have no influence on that apart from the games when we play them.“So it says nothing about the quality of the Premier League, especially when you look at City v Real Madrid. “I know that people look at these things and you saw that one of the best teams in the world maybe in the moment and City were clearly better so that shows as well how strong the League is. Despite the outstanding consistency and success of the past two seasons, Klopp is certainly not one to rest on his laurels and be content.“There is still a lot of work to do and a lot of space for improvement.“You see our games and result wise it looks okay but performance-wise there is a lot of space for improvement. “That is what we work on and try constantly through the week.“Result consistency is maybe difficult to improve because that is close to perfection, obviously, but it is possible to improve the performances in all departments. “There are so many things you can improve that that will never end.” View full article

Gary Neville feels that Mo Salah is ready to move on from Liverpool and join either Real Madrid of Barcelona in the near future.Salah has had an extraordinary career with the Reds since arriving on Merseyside in the summer in 2017 scoring 90 goals in 140 games for the Reds.While his record-breaking first season will stand the test of time, he has certainly played a major part in the success of the club in the last two campaigns winning more individual honours along the way.There has been speculation about suitors for Sadio Mane and more recently Roberto Firmino, it seemed like any talk about Salah departing had gone a tad quiet.But Neville put it back on the agenda saying that a lack of love from the fans for the Egyptian superstar could come into play when he decides what his next move might be. The Mirror ( via Sky Sports) reported the former Man United stalwart as saying: “I said 18 months ago I thought Mo Salah would leave Liverpool."I think it's a little bit more simple in the sense of why Liverpool fans maybe don't demonstrate that love for Salah, and it's affinity and loyalty.“I think there's a feeling that he wants to go and play at Real Madrid, he'll go to Barcelona - he'll take the big move.Neville said that shouldn’t be seen as a criticism of Salah, it’s just that some players want to test themselves on the continent.“I played with David Beckham, I played with Ruud van Nistelrooy, I played with Cristiano Ronaldo - they wanted to aspire to win the Ballon d'Or, they wanted to be at Real Madrid, they wanted to be up in lights and play at the biggest clubs in the world.“I think there's a feeling: affinity, loyalty, will he leave us? "I think he could. "I think he is ultimately using Liverpool potentially as a stepping stone for his career. “He has aspirations to be [at a club like Madrid or Barca].“Let's be honest, Real Madrid and Barcelona for a lot of players are the pinnacle."You often see this thought process with South American players and the Reds have been the victim of it with Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Javier Mascherano to name a few.Judging from a fair distance away, Mo seems to like the quiet life, much removed from all the frenzied limelight a move to the ‘big two’ in Spain would bring.He keeps it pretty low-key, spending time with his family and generally seems happy on the pitch bonding well with his teammates.And then there is the fact that Liverpool are currently the best team in World Football, that is not a claim, it is a cold hard fact.Why would any player want to leave what Jürgen Klopp is building at this present moment, especially when he is a key member of this team?Or perhaps is it just a ex-rival player wanting to cause a bit of disharmony in the ranks and knowing his own team cannot contend with the Reds on the pitch at this present time.Knowing the mentality of this Liverpool squad, this sort of claim wouldn’t even raise a skerrick of friction. View full article

Jürgen Klopp has given fulsome praise to his players as Liverpool had to fight exceptionally hard to record their 18th straight league win after a 3-2 victory against West Ham on Monday night.The home fans walking into Anfield would have by and large expected a routine victory against a side who are battling to hold onto their Premier League status.And when Gini Wijnaldum scored from a flowing move within the ten minute mark, it appeared that the Reds would stroll to another three points.However the Hammers who have just one league win in 2020 and whose fans are in uproar over the current ownership of the East London club, were in the mood to cause some uncomfortable moments for the home side and equalised through a Issa Diop header which went through Alisson.They then took a shock lead early in the second half when substitute Pablo Fornals smartly turned the ball home and any discussion of a routine evening at the office was now well and truly on the back burner.During this winning run in the league, Liverpool have had their hurdles to overcome and this was another one.While they were not at their fluid best, they found a way again with goals by Mo Salah (via a Lukasz Fabianski howler) and Sadio Mane. Speaking after the game as the Reds equaled the consecutive league victory mark set by Man City, Klopp said he continues to be be amazed by the ability of his squad to perform game after game.The Echo reported the manager as saying:A couple of years ago, maybe at the beginning of my time here, I said we wanted to write our own stories and create our own history.“Obviously the boys have taken that really seriously, when I said that!“It’s all cool, but not too important at the moment. “I never thought it would ( the consecutive wins) would bebroken or equalled We did it and I cannot believe it happened to be honest.“It’s so special. The numbers are incredible, so difficult.“We have spoken about wonderful games and hard games, and it was a difficult one tonight. “You can only get those numbers by winning all those games. The brilliant ones, the rougher ones, the more grumpy ones.”“That’s what counts. We all know that it’s very special, but at the moment we are just in the situation and want to recover and want to prepare for the next one.” Despite also battling for their Premier League survival, Klopp said the next clash against Watford on Saturday evening will a considerable challenge.“The next three points are always the hardest. “It’s always been like this. It would be strange if we said anything different. “The next 12 points will be difficult because they are difficult, you saw that tonight.“The next opponent is waiting, the whole stadium at Watford will go for us. It’s completely normal. It will be a special atmosphere and we have to be 100% ready.“I saw them against United and they played really well here because at the moment everybody is fighting for everything.“I saw the boys tonight, they are really ready to fight. “As long as we have that then nobody should worry, but we really have a lot of work still to do.” Klopp also a special mention for the crowd after the 21st successive home league win.“We have to be ready for the hardest work as a unit, and we were there again together with the crowd tonight, I loved that fact. “Whatever will happen this season is an effort of all of us. I could not be more thankful or appreciate the support we get. "So far so good." View full article

There are many reasons why Andy Robertson is one of the most popular players in the current Liverpool squad.Not only is he an outstanding player with a terrific work ethic, he is someone who relates to the fanbase.His journey from Queens Park in the Scottish Third division to playing on the biggest stages for one of the best teams in World Football is one of immense hard work after countless knock-backs.There is an old adage that 'you never forget where you come from' and Robbo is testament to that.He is as normal and grounded that a Footballer can be and proof of that was where he spent his recent winter break.Not in a glamorous island location, but back home in Glasgow.Robertson spoke to the Daily Mail about his time off.“It would have been no good if I came back here with heat stroke, so I did everyone a favour and went back up there and spent time on the golf course.To make ends meet coming up the ranks, the left-back worked for a time at Marks & Spencer.Once again, Robertson shows his quality as a person by not forgetting about those tough times but reflecting on them.“For people to say it was a fairy tale leaving Marks & Spencer behind — how many thousands of people work in these supermarkets, I felt that was a bit disrespectful.“These are normal lives and people can have a very good life working there. “How many of them are in our stands over the weekend and there am I saying: “I have left this terrible life behind and moved on”. “Of course I get better paid. Would I be happier playing football than at M&S? "Yes, of course, but if that was my life I’d be the same person I am today. “Money doesn’t bring me happiness, but from three or four I wanted to be a footballer. That was my dream in life.The Scotland captain also spoke about those who doubted him along the way.“I am one of the lucky ones who have said I wanted to be a footballer through my whole life. "I held on to that when I was at Queen’s Park and people probably laughed at me when I was 16 or 17 and they asked me what I’d be.“People were looking at me and thinking “get a grip, it’s gone now”. "For me, my dream was always to become a footballer. That’s why I say “yes, of course” I’m happier than if I were at M&S. “Of course me being able to set my kids up for life is an added bonus and being able to give them a good start in life is an added bonus, but for me it was all about just kicking a ball every single day.”The grass-roots history of Robertson extends to his ability of sticking up for his teammates on the pitch.He is not an hatchet man by any sense of the word, but there is certainly a crafty subtleness to the way he goes about putting things right.Like what happened in the Club World Cup Final in Doha against Flamengo when he put Rafinha in his place after he had enough of his physicality against Sadio Mane.The sideline microphone picked up the former Hull man say “Sadio, I’ll get him, don’t worry.”He talked about what occurred.“I know how to deal with Sadio. “That was me trying to calm my own team-mate down. I know sometimes things can affect Sadio. “In that game he got targeted Once he gets booked, there is nothing he can really do. So if I were to say something short and sharp to Sadio, it might have a little effect.“Unfortunately, the camera and the audio picked it up. “I don’t want to come across as that player, but if it comes to protecting a team-mate I like to think my team-mates protect me as much as I try to protect them. “We’re a family and if one of them is getting targeted then we will all back them up.“That happens in any good team. Like the Man United team of old. Like with Roy Keane. They never shied away from protecting each other. Arsenal with Vieira. That was the same. "At Man City, Fernandinho does it.“ For me as a team we protect each other. We are like a family. We are like brothers. "If one of them is getting targeted or picked on it is up to the rest of us to protect him. That’s what I try to do.” While the 25 year-old does not believe in regrets, there is one moment in the Anfield miracle game against Barcelona which he does not take any pride in. “I do look back on that moment with Messi as one regret. I don’t like seeing it. “When I saw it afterwards I was gutted.“We all had the attitude that day that nothing was standing in our way to get to that final and we created that atmosphere around the stadium and me and Fabinho were tracking him and there was a tangle of legs and we were on the floor. “To do that to the greatest player that has ever played…“ I have nothing but respect for him and Barcelona, but we went into that game with the attitude that we were 3-0 down, we needed a miracle, we needed something special and if that little thing stopped the best player in the world playing to his highest potential.“But I do regret it. That’s not me as a person. That’s not my personality. But that night a lot of things happened that you don’t really remember.“It was the loudest changing room I have been in before the game. You could see the focus and the determination in all of us and maybe I went over the line.”“But Liverpool fans like the edge, I think. I feel that maybe this whole team is quite good at representing Liverpool right now. “Liverpool is a big working class city. We go out and show hard work. “We get beaten in games but what you can’t question is that every time we go out there, we give 100 per cent.’While many fans are dreaming of the moment that Jordan Henderson lifts the Premier League trophy, Robertson is wary of saying those very words.A fan came up and said “You are going to win the league, aren’t you?’ “I said to him: “We are doing well so far”.’“I didn’t want to give him too much hope. Look, we’re a team that loves winning games and are very good at it and we need five wins now and we believe we will be able to get those five wins and more.“We know what position we’re in. “Do we believe we’re going to win it? “Not yet. "Not until the Champions sign is over our heads." View full article