Jurgen Klopp will look to get one over on Frank Lampard as the Reds lock horns with the Blues – will the Super Cup head to Anfield or Stamford Bridge?
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has shared his honest opinion of what he expects from Chelsea on the pitch when the two teams lock horns in the UEFA Super Cup final at Istanbul’s BJK Vodafone Park on Wednesday night (official Reds website).
The annual competition between the Champions League winners and Europa League champions will pit Jurgen Klopp’s dominant side against a Blues outfit which has been unable to bring in any new players this summer due to a FIFA ban.
In addition, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard only took over from Maurizio Sarri at the Stamford Bridge outfit in July following his switch from Derby County, who he steered to the Championship playoff final in 2018-19 – his first season in management.
The Blues were beaten 4-0 by Manchester United last Sunday, themselves under a club legend and relatively young manager in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and as such, Liverpool are very much deemed favourites to take the Super Cup.
However, when asked about what he expects about the Anfield side’s opponents, Robertson was taking nothing for granted, expecting a tough game and praising Lampard for the job he did at Pride Park.
The Scotland star told the Reds website: “A change of manager, they’ve lost [Eden] Hazard and they’ve brought in [Christian] Pulisic, made a couple of signings. Obviously they’re probably a wee bit more reliant on youth players, but they’ve got fantastic youth players that have went out and done it a very high level, so they’ll be ready to make the jump and Frank Lampard did a very good job at Derby.
“So we’ll be looking for a tough game, maybe a wee bit different to the Chelsea we faced last season but it’ll be interesting to see what they’re like. We know how hard a game against Chelsea is, so we won’t be shocked by that and we need to be ready to match their work-rate and match their skill.”
The Super Cup will definitely be heading to England this year for the first time in its 14-year history, with this game being the first time it has been contested between two Premier League sides.
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