Jurgen Klopp Defends Andy Robertson Following Online Criticism of Napoli Performance

​Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has defended full-back Andy Robertson after the Scot conceded a costly penalty on Tuesday night in the club's 2-0 defeat to Napoli.

The penalty incident rounded off what has been a difficult period for the defender, who was also targeted by sections of Scotland's fans during the recent international break when the national team slipped to home defeats against Russia and Belgium. 

Robertson withdrew from social media this week following the Napoli game in response to the recent online abuse that he has received, before returning with a light-hearted tweet on Friday.

Reacting to the criticism that Robertson has faced, Klopp appeared bemused, and claimed that the response from some online was a reflection of society rather than of the player himself.

"The criticism has nothing to do with the expectation. It is to do with the world out there. He has played well for weeks and months and then you take it for granted. If there is one game less than another, you start asking what has happened to Andy Robertson. Nothing. It’s completely normal. The game before he was maybe the best player on the pitch", Klopp said ahead of this weekend's trip to Chelsea, quoted by The Mirror.


The German coach was also keen to point out that he had no issues with Robertson's performance in Tuesday night's game, claiming that Napoli should not have been awarded the penalty, and that Jose Callejon had been clever in winning the spot-kick rather than Robertson making a mistake.

Jose Callejon,Andy Robertson

"The Callejon-Robertson situation, we all agree that it was not a penalty. Was it smart from Callejon? Yes, if you want to be smart like this. He wanted to get Robertson out of the game with little challenges here and discussions with the referee, and he got (him)a harsh yellow card.But you face very experienced players and they try everything to decrease your quality. Nothing else happened. It was a completely normal game from Robbo."


Source : 90min