One Sky Sports reporter noticed a gesture from Andy Robertson towards Jurgen Klopp just before he came on as a substitute in Liverpool’s clash against Chelsea tonight.
The Scotland left-back replaced Kostas Tsimikas in the 65th minute at Stamford Bridge, with the latter’s introduction to the starting line-up one of six changes to the Reds’ team from Saturday’s defeat at Manchester City.
As the 29-year-old prepared to enter the field in west London, Gary Cotterill spotted something noteworthy.
As per Sky Sports‘ live commentary, the reporter observed (21:25): “There was a big hug from Andy Robertson for Klopp before he came on. No hard feelings for being dropped then.”
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It’s a rare experience for the Scottish defender to be left out of Liverpool’s starting line-up; tonight is only the second Premier League game he’s missed this season when he’s been available (Transfermarkt).
Robertson came in for criticism from Jamie Carragher on Twitter at the weekend for being caught too far upfield in one instance as his opponent got away from him, and Klopp responded by removing the 29-year-old from the team at Stamford Bridge.
However, he was far from alone in being culled by the manager, who rang the changes in eye-catching fashion.
Going by what Cotterill noticed on the touchline at the time of the substitution, the Scot took his exclusion from the starting XI in mature fashion and will no doubt seek to use that as a motivation to ensure he isn’t omitted again in the near future.