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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Andy Robertson names 'unbelievable' Liverpool substitute who changed game at Inter Milan

Andy Robertson believes an "unbelievable" performance from Jordan Henderson was key to Liverpool earning another famous Champions League win.

Henderson emerged from the bench shortly before the hour to help inspire the Reds to a 2-0 triumph at Inter Milan in their round of 16 first leg on Wednesday night.

Jurgen Klopp's side had been under severe pressure during the second half until the introduction of Henderson alongside Naby Keita and Luis Diaz.

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And Robertson has pinpointed the triple change as pivotal to earning a seventh straight win in the competition.

"Hendo was unbelievable when he came on and I can't speak highly enough of his performance," said the left-back.

"We were under pressure when he came on, and him and Naby made a big difference and Luis as well.

"They changed the game as we started to get a foothold in the game.

"That's where credit has to go to Hendo, he got hold of the ball and took the game by the scruff of the neck which isn't easy when coming off the bench. I thought he was terrific."

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Roberto Firmino, who had replaced the injured Diogo Jota at half-time, opened the scoring with 15 minutes remaining from a Robertson corner before Mohamed Salah struck the second eight minutes later.

And of his 11th assist of the season, the defender said: "I'll take the cross, of course I will, but it's an unbelievable header, Bobby has done so much work for that.

"He deserves it. Bobby is an incredible footballer. He was so happy he had scored and I thought the subs make a big difference.

"We're all fighting for the same spots but most importantly we are all fighting for the same goals. We all want success and we can only do that by working together.

"When you see the quality coming off the bench, it can turn the game and that's what happened here."

Robertson admits Liverpool were grateful for impressive performances from centre-back duo Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate that meant Inter didn't have a shot on target despite sustained bouts of strong pressure, although the Italian side did strike the crossbar.

"We need to be at our best every game and against Inter we weren't quite there at 100%," said the Scotland international. "When you're not there you need to do enough to win the game and I thought we did that.

"We defended really well, I don't really remember Ali having too many saves to make.

"We had to suffer a lot, we had to dig deep especially at the start of the second half, I thought they started putting pressure on but without creating a real clear-cut chance.

"Ibou and Virg stood up to that, I thought Trent defended his wing really well as well. We limited the chances they were creating, which is always positive when they were on top."

Robertson, speaking to LFC TV, added: "But this tie isn't over. Inter are a really good team and they will come to Anfield full of confidence thinking they can cause us problems.

"It's important we make that a special occasion. The fans always do."

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