Gary Neville absolutely loves Andy Robertson. He loves him so much that he labelled the Liverpool left-back the best full-back in the Premier League "by a mile" on Monday night.
The former Manchester United captain spoke glowingly about the Scotland international on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football when picking his Premier League Team of the Year: "I absolutely love Joao Cancelo but I can’t ignore Robertson. The best full-back in the league by a mile - he does both things incredibly well, eight and nine, this is not Mr.Steady, eight and nines out of 10 every week.
"Him down the left hand side when it matters, hurting, he is unbelievable. He does more than you know, obviously he’s been overshadowed at times by Trent, who has unbelievable delivery which is good to watch. But Robertson is the best full-back in the league by a mile.”
Robertson was crucial for Liverpool in what was a turbulent campaign last season. The Reds were decimated by defensive injuries, however the 28-year-old remained a much-needed ever-present for Jurgen Klopp and accumulated more minutes than any Reds player across the squad.
Konstantinos Tsimikas’ arrival in the summer has eased the playing burden on the Scotland man, allowing him more opportunities to be rested throughout Liverpool's gruelling fixture schedule.
That has helped the 28-year-old reproduce his best Liverpool form and he’s so far registered 13 assists and scored two goals en route to helping the Merseysiders lift both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. Those contributions will prove even more crucial if the team goes all the way in the Champions League and Premier League title race too.
And when explaining his reasoning for choosing Robertson for his Team of the Year, Neville highlighted his contribution not just with, but also without the ball as the big reason why he rates him so highly. "In terms of attacking and defensive content, I think put both together, he’s the best by a mile."
Neville’s comments look to be backed up by the underlying numbers. According to Wyscout the energetic defender ranks top among all Premier League left-backs who have played over 1000 minutes in terms of accumulating the highest Expected Assists (xA - 5.47), as well as having attempted the most crosses into the penalty area (4.46 per 90).
He also ranks second when it comes to most key passes (0.72 per 90) and a respectable sixth for the most progressive runs (2.37 per 90). While that sheds light on why the marauding wing-back receives a lot of plaudits for his attacking capabilities, his defensive ability can’t be undervalued.
Although he stands at only 5ft10, there are only six full-backs/wing-backs from that aforementioned group who can better his aerial duel success rate (57.35 per cent). According to FBref, he also ranks high in his position in terms of rarely being dribbled past (0.74 per 90).
There’s no denying that it’s been another standout campaign for the 28-year-old. As Neville says, he's not just a Mr.Steady, he's more a Mr.Consistently Brilliant. All told, the above goes some way to highlight why Neville’s admiration is more than justified.
