Robertson is set to go head-to-head with Real Madrid in another Champions League final when Liverpool plays in Paris on May 28
Andy Robertson says Liverpool is aiming “to get one over” on Real Madrid when the two teams meet again in the Champions League final.
The European showpiece, in Paris on May 28, will be the third of Jurgen Klopp’s reign and the first saw the Reds beaten 3-1 in Kiev back in 2018 after two mistakes from goalkeeper Loris Karius either side of a wonder goal from Gareth Bale.
Los Blancos were also Liverpool’s conquerors at the quarter-final stage of last season’s Champions League campaign and given their recent history, Robertson says the Spaniards are owed one from Klopp’s men.
“Look, obviously the final against Madrid didn’t go as we wanted it to and they put us out last season as well, so since I’ve been here we’ve not managed to get one over on Real Madrid,” Robertson said after Saturday’s FA Cup final win at Wembley. “They’ve knocked us out and they have beaten us in the final, so it’d be nice to play them again and try and get one over on them because we’ve not managed it.
“But when it comes to cup finals you want to win them all regardless, it doesn’t really matter who you play. You want to win the trophy and that’s my mindset, but it’s also Real Madrid’s mindset. So it’ll be an incredibly difficult game but we’ve got big Premier League games to focus on first and then we’ll have a week to focus on that game.
“We’ve shown that we know how to win trophies. We’ve stood tall, put in good performances, dug deep when it matters and we’re delighted to obviously have the two trophies in the bag. That’s incredible and we’re still fighting for the Premier League. It’s out of our hands but we’ll obviously fight for the Champions League when the time comes to it.”
Liverpool head to Southampton on Tuesday evening looking to keep the heat on league leaders Manchester City who drew 2-2 against West Ham United on Sunday at the London Stadium to ensure the title race will enter the final day on May 22.
Victory at St Mary’s will put the Reds level on points with Pep Guardiola’s men heading into the final round of fixtures next Sunday when Liverpool hosts Wolves and City entertains Aston Villa.
The Reds are sweating on the fitness of Mohamed Salah, and Virgil van Dijk for the game after they were withdrawn as precautions during the penalty-shootout win over Chelsea at the weekend.
It will be Liverpool’s 61st game of an exacting season but Robertson insists everyone will be ready for the final three fixtures, saying the magnitude of the European Cup final means fatigue won’t be a factor in the French capital.
Robertson added: “We play on Tuesday, which is a tight turnaround, and then we have quite a while until we play again on Sunday which is fine. And then from there, we’ve got Sunday to Saturday. Once we get through Tuesday without any more casualties, then I think we’ve got enough time to prepare for the final two games.
“So I think we’ll be fine. I’m hoping the two lads who came off (Salah and Van Dijk) are OK. It doesn’t seem too serious but obviously, we lost Fabinho in the week, so we hope he’ll be back, and then obviously we hope there’ll be no more and no more big players out.
“But I am sure we’ll be ready for the Champions League final. The adrenaline will get us through and we’re all looking forward to the occasion already.”
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