‘We are glad…’ – Andy Robertson makes candid title race admission after Merseyside derby draw | OneFootball

Andy Robertson has admitted that he’s ‘glad’ to have the Merseyside derby out of the way and that Liverpool no longer have a game in hand on Arsenal.

Ever since the original Goodison Park fixture was postponed in December, the Reds have played one match fewer than every other club in the Premier League bar Everton of course, but now they sit seven points clear at the top with the same number of games played as the Gunners in second.

Ironically, the shoe will be on the other foot by this time next week as our trip to Aston Villa has been brought forward to 19 February due to our participation in the Carabao Cup final, so Mikel Arteta’s side will soon have a game in hand on the league leaders for the best part of a month.

Robertson reflects on Merseyside derby

Speaking after Liverpool dropped two points in stoppage time last night (in controversial circumstances), Robertson seemed relieved that the mental mathematics have now been put to one side, with the title race picture becoming slightly clearer now that every team in the division has played 24 times.

The 30-year-old said (via Liverpool Echo): “There’s nothing worse than having a game in hand. You just want to be on level games and see where it takes you. We are glad the game in hand is out of the way but we wanted to be nine points clear, but the fact we are seven (clear), a lot of people would have taken that mid-February.”

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Liverpool still in firm control of their own destiny

There aren’t too many current players with more experience of a Premier League title race than Robertson, who’s soldiered through quite a few during his eight seasons at Liverpool, so he’s very much speaking from a ‘been there, done that perspective’.

Whilst having a game in hand can seem like a psychological advantage, in truth there’s no substitute for having the points on the board and setting the standard for the chasing pack to reach.

If Liverpool were to win at Villa Park next Wednesday and stretch their lead even further, that’d heap even greater pressure on Arsenal to match that result when they play in the top flight on the same day that we have the Carabao Cup final.

The Reds will also probably be relieved to have the first Merseyside derby of the season out of the way, not least given their mediocre record away to Everton in recent years and the added emotional baggage of it being the last-ever Goodison Park meeting of the two teams.

The concession of the stoppage-time equaliser was hugely frustrating, but ultimately Robertson and his teammates still hold the aces in the Premier League title race with a seven-point lead. Arsenal need us to slip up in at least three matches in order to capitalise, and that’s without dropping points themselves.

Liverpool’s destiny is in their own hands, and that’s just how we want it!