Andy Robertson has hailed Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for making a tactical decision against Aston Villa that left him "buzzing".
The left-back broke the record for the most assists made by a defender in Premier League history in the Boxing Day win over Villa. That victory means they are now five points adrift of the final Champions League qualification place.
It was the Reds' first top-flight game since the end of the World Cup, with Robertson hailing Klopp as the reason behind their win. He pinpointed Klopp's decision to bring on youngsters Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak as being key.
“He’s a fantastic player. He’s got a huge future ahead of him, lots of potential. He was unbelievable," Robertson told the club website of Bajcetic, who scored Liverpool's third goal to seal the win.
“When he came on he broke up the play, that’s what he’s probably well known for, not quite his goalscoring, but it was a massive goal for us. I’m so happy for him and young Ben.
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“I’ve got a soft spot for young Ben for obvious reasons. When he came on I was just buzzing for him. For such a young age he’s been unbelievable since he’s come into the squad, no fear, trying to dribble past all of us, keeping us young and keeping us fresh.
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"We saw that. Fair play to all the young lads, they all step up and we’ve got some brilliant ones around us. It’s important we try to help them, they are the future and I think they both showed our future is pretty bright.”
Robertson credited Trent Alexander-Arnold for playing the ball that led to him providing the assist for Mohamed Salah's goal, and breaking Leighton Baines' Premier League record for assists in the process.
“You are up against some unbelievable players from the Premier League but obviously I’m out on my own just now and I’ve managed to go ahead of Leighton Baines, who always had fantastic numbers,” said Robertson.
“But there’s a certain somebody quite close behind me [Alexander-Arnold on 45] and he’s got a lot more years on his side unfortunately! I’m sure he will overtake it but I’m happy to be there just now and happy to contribute.
“It was an unbelievable ball from Trent. Sometimes they are more important than the actual assist. The ball to me was unbelievable and I just saw Mo across the front and it was a perfect start.
“We’ve started off well in terms of we’ve picked up where we left off and got three points, which was so important. It’s a real intense period of time. We need to focus on ourselves game by game and we just need to keep on picking up three points.”
Liverpool host Leicester on Friday night in their final game of 2022, though they will remain in sixth place whatever the result is. Robertson is likely to start and Klopp may once again call on the younger members of his team late in the game.
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