Yahoo Sports Robertson glad Liverpool avoided Champions League ‘carnage’
Andy Robertson has said he is glad Liverpool have avoided the ‘carnage’ of the Champions League’s matchday eight and playoff round.
Liverpool lost for the first time in Europe this season after a 3-2 defeat at PSV Eindhoven. However, Arne Slot opted to field a second-string side in the Netherlands with the Reds already guaranteed automatic entry to the Round of 16.
On an action-packed matchday eight that saw 64 goals scored, Manchester City were among the teams to seal their place in the knockout rounds late on.
Thank you for your brilliant support home and away during the #UCL league phase 👏
See you in the round of 16 ✊ pic.twitter.com/0ziLarqEJ4
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 29, 2025
Discussing how Liverpool have adjusted to the new format, Robertson said he was relieved the Reds had secured early progress.
“Two extra games but tonight looked like carnage, the league table was all over the place, so I’m glad our place was settled,” he told TNT Sports.
“All the games on one night created excitement. We know whatever format it was, our aim is always to get to the last 16 and then we see if we can go further.
“I’m just glad we don’t have a play-off and we’re in the automatic eight. There will always be tough games so lets see who we face one they fight out in the play-offs.”
Robertson believes Liverpool can take positives despite their defeat to PSV, a fixture that saw youngsters including James McDonnell and Jayden Danns handed rare starts.
“We can take a lot of positives from tonight and it was a chance to give the young lads a chance.
“We got our noses in front at 2-1 and then were a bit naive, which usually doesn’t happen. We tried to push when we fell behind but it just didn’t happen. Results went our way elsewhere so we finish top and that’s what we wanted at the start of the season.”
On the club’s young players getting minutes, he added: “They were really good. [James] McConnell was great in midfield and driving forward. Big [Jayden] Danns was great up top and held up the ball really well.
“We also had experienced players getting a chance, Federico [Chiesa] was really good and got the 90 minutes he needed.”
Read – Every team qualified for the Champions League knockout stage
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