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Beth Lindop
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson described teammate Dominik Szoboszlai’s sloppy backheel against Barnsley as “unacceptable” and admitted the Reds must stop encouraging their opponents if they are to be successful.
Liverpool were 2-0 up in their FA Cup third-round tie against League One Barnsley when Szoboszlai’s botched clearance opened the door for midfielder Adam Phillips to reduce the deficit.
Arne Slot’s team won the match 4–1, however Szoboszlai was widely criticized for his mistake after the match, with Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane describing it as “disrespectful”.
Asked if Szoboszlai’s decision allowed the visitors to get back into the game at Anfield, Robertson said: “That’s putting it very nicely! The frustrating thing is Dom does this incredible 60-yard sprint to start. “He’s getting the slap from the Kop and I don’t know if that’s maybe gone to his head.
“We can joke about it now, but it’s unacceptable to lose a goal like that. Dom obviously knows that. He’s been magnificent for us this season and again he was very good. He just had a lapse of concentration, and we can’t afford too many of those in the six-yard box. I don’t think Gio [Mamardashvili] I was too happy.
“He wants to keep a clean sheet, the defense also wants to keep a clean sheet, so it wasn’t great. He gave them a way to come back and it was 2-1 for a long time. It made him a little nervous, but in the end we did it.
“I think we all said something [to Szoboszlai] at that moment, but he realized and apologized at half-time. If anyone’s performances cannot be criticized this season, it is Dom. He has been at 100% in every game this season and has a lack of concentration which is not a big deal. “We really can’t afford that in the so-called biggest games.”
Reflecting on Liverpool’s habit of cheering on opponents, Robertson added: “That’s the most frustrating thing. This season, we’ve let teams in too many times. Since the first game of the season we’ve done that and we’ve been punished at times, in terms of losing or drawing.”
“At 2-0, we started looking for control to make that happen, then the questions arose. It’s safe to say it was an individual mistake, but then we limited their chances, which is good. Then it was just about getting the third and the fourth. We had quality off the bench and they delivered.
“These games are about getting through. We’ve seen a couple of Premier League teams take on lesser opposition and luckily it wasn’t us.
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“We’ve done better in recent weeks. We’ve looked a bit more confident defensively, which is nice, but now we have to put it all together because people say we’re missing an attacking threat.
“Now we need to achieve both because at the beginning of the season we were very good up front, but probably too open at the back. Now we have sort of reversed that.”
“If you want to win trophies and go further in tournaments, you have to strike the perfect balance and that’s what we’re working towards.”
