Robertson hoping Supercup isn’t this season’s only visit to Istanbul

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Liverpool will be looking to lay down an early marker in their Champions League title defence by beating Chelsea in Wednesday’s UEFA Supercup.

The game is being held in Istanbul, which will inevitably conjure up memories of our greatest night.

Intriguingly, this year’s Champions League final takes place in the same venue and, looking ahead to the match, Andy Robertson expressed the squad’s to go all the way once again.

He knows maintaining their unbeaten record in knockout matches under Jurgen Klopp will be enormously difficult, but the belief is there.

Asked by the official club website about the prospect of another visit next May, he replied: “That’d be great! That would be lovely but we know how hard it will be to get to three Champions League finals in a row – but that’s something we’ve got to aim for.

“We believe we can cause anyone problems on our day, but we also know how hard it was to get to the two finals.

“We’re realistic but we’re also ambitious to get to the final again. If we’re in Istanbul come May then it’ll be fantastic, but we just need to focus on getting off to a good start in the season first and foremost.”

Wednesday night is an excellent opportunity to land a second piece of major silverware under Jurgen Klopp.

But Chelsea are looking to taste immediate success under Frank Lampard, and Robertson expects the match, as an all-English affair, to have an added edge like earlier meetings with domestic rivals on the continental stage.

“Of course, we want to win more trophies now,” he said. “We don’t want to just stop at the Champions League, that’s all we’ve won as a group of players.

“We want more but we know how hard that’s going to be. This is our next opportunity to do so and it’d be great if we can take it.

“But it’s the start of what’s going to be a busy campaign for us. Our ambitions are to go to the very end this season and that means we’ll have more finals.

“That’s what we have to keep in our heads, but Wednesday is a huge game for us and hopefully we can win it. 

“But it’s obviously very intense, playing against another Premier League team.

We found that out in the season before when we played Man City in the quarters, we found that out in the final against Tottenham and I’m sure we’ll find out again in the Super Cup against Chelsea.

“These are things we have to deal with, but they have the same problems and same advantages. I’m sure both teams will be going out to look to win it and let’s see who comes out on top on the night.”

It’s clear that the significance of the game hasn’t been underplayed in the Reds camp.

For some, the relentless succession of games may seem a burden, but for the players, each match is viewed as an opportunity to prove themselves.

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