Andrew Robertson said Liverpool will not focus on Neymar’s reputation for diving ahead of their opening Champions League game with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Criticism of Neymar’s theatrics were widespread throughout this summer’s World Cup, with the Brazilian even later admitting he sometimes exaggerated his reactions.
But asked about the PSG forward’s antics and the reception he will receive at Anfield in midweek, Robertson said: “That’s not up to me, it’s the fans.
“What I do know is that he’s a world-class player and we need to be wary of him. His skills speak for themselves.
“Yeah, people say he goes down to easily, but that’s not up to us. It’s up to the referee to decide. We’ll stay away from that.
“For us, we’ve got to concentrate on the qualities. Unfortunately for us, he has a lot of them. It’s one player that we’ll have to be wary of. The bad thing for us is that they’ve got quite a lot of players that we’ll have to be wary of.
“On the other side, a good thing for us is that we’ve got a lot of players that can cause them problems.”
Robertson has been part of a Liverpool back four that has conceded on just two occasions so far this season. At the other end of the pitch, Jurgen Klopp’s team have scored 11 goals, helping them win their first five games of the league season for the first time since 1990-91 following Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
“We’ve shored up at the back, which is pleasing,” left-back Robertson said. “We’ve all walked into the dressing room [after Spurs] a bit disappointed we’ve lost the first goal for them.
“It shouldn’t happen so late on. We’ve got be switched on from set-plays and we put ourselves under pressure for the last two minutes when it was a very comfortable performance. That was a wee bit disappointing.
“Obviously conceding two in the first five and maintaining our unbeaten run are the positives.”
Liverpool’s encounter at Wembley on the weekend was the start of a run that sees them play seven games within the space of 21 days.
“I think we’ve passed this test, yeah,” Robertson said of the result against Mauricio Pochettino’s side. “It was our toughest game out of the first five — no disrespect to the other teams.
“But coming away to Tottenham is always a tough game, but to get the three points we’re delighted with.
“Now that task is over and we’ve got a hell of a run in the next six games. We will have tougher tests now, but ones that we’ll look forward to.”
Comment here