Arne Slot’s first Premier League starting XI as Liverpool head coach includes one selection which has been described as a surprise in some quarters.
The 45-year-old has made the most of having a fully-fit squad to name a strong line-up and substitutes’ bench, although Joe Gomez is a notable omission from the travelling party to Portman Road to face Ipswich.
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Liverpool Echo journalist Paul Gorst gave his reaction to the team news when it was announced 75 minutes before kick-off, and he honed in on the left-back selection.
He wrote: “Arne Slot has named his first Premier League XI and Andy Robertson is back in. I am somewhat surprised by that decision given Kostas Tsimikas played the majority of pre-season there.”
Although Robertson has generally been preferred to Tsimikas ever since the Greece international came to Anfield in 2020, and the Scot has been the first-choice left-back for the majority of his seven years at Liverpool, Gorst’s surprise over today’s decision from Slot is understandable.
The number 21 had indeed been the go-to man in that position for the bulk of pre-season and was named in what was regarded to be our strongest XI for the friendly against Sevilla last weekend, with his elder teammate starting against Las Palmas later in the day.
The Scotland captain didn’t feature much over the past few weeks, having been ruled out for the most part due to injury issues, but thankfully those now seem to be behind him.
Today’s line-up suggests that, just like Jurgen Klopp, Slot sees Robertson as his go-to man at left-back, although we’re sure that Tsimikas will get his fair share of game-time as the campaign goes on. As we’ve seen in previous years, injuries may force the coach’s hand, but let’s hope that unwelcome scenario doesn’t arise.
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