Liverpool defender Andy Robertson says Newcastle ‘are in fantastic shape’ and singled out Joelinton for special praise.
The 28-year-old Scotland international played the full 90 minutes in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Newcastle United which resulted in the Merseyside team going top of the league, albeit temporarily. Although it was a good result for Newcastle, they struggled to land a punch on Liverpool.
However, left-back Robertson was complimentary about the resurgent Newcastle side. In particularly he highlighted the importance for his side winning a battle with Joelinton in midfield.
READ MORE: Newcastle player ratings for 1-0 loss to Liverpool
Speaking to BT Sport after the match, as reported by the Liverpool Echo, Robertson said: ”We worked really hard. Newcastle are in fantastic shape, they’re in the top 10 now so we knew it was going to be difficult.
“They’ve made their home form count and luckily we got the goal and then I don’t think they had too many chances to be fair. We had a couple to try to kill the game off but all games are a wee bit nervy at this time of the season and we’re just delighted with the three points.
"They've obviously had the full week to prepare. Joelinton was causing us a couple of problems early on with the long balls, he was managing to win most of the headers and I thought second half the lads were excellent against him, started winning headers and that made a big difference.
“They started better than us, yeah, and then we got a foothold in the game. The first goal is always crucial, we managed to get it, and then I think we controlled it a bit better after that.”
Newcastle are now tenth in the table. They have a week to prepare to face Manchester City.
