Jurgen Klopp never liked the implication that Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas were locked in a 'battle' for a place in his Liverpool line-up. "There's no battle," the former Reds boss told reporters in 2021. "It’s about who is in good shape, who is playing well.
"We have two really good left-backs, and it was always the idea to have that because it's a very special position and it is obviously much better when you have really good options. But there's nothing bad to say, so 'battle' is a wrong word for it."
In a way, Klopp was correct, because it wasn't really a 'battle'. Robertson was Liverpool's undisputed starter, and Tsimikas merely a capable understudy.
Things have changed, though. For probably the first time since Tsimikas' arrival at Anfield four years ago, Robertson has a serious fight on his hands to remain the Reds' first-choice left-back...