Andy Robertson insists that Scotland must right their wrongs from a dismal Euro 2024 campaign to ensure they "feel the love again" from supporters. 

Robertson, who led Scotland in Germany, was powerless to stop their group stage exit as their wait for knockout football at an international tournament went on. 

After surpassing George Young's record for the most caps as Scotland captain in June, the Liverpool full-back will wear the armband for their two Nations League games.

Steve Clarke's side welcome Poland to Hampden Park on Thursday before travelling to Lisbon to face Portugal three days later. 

"The summer was a low for all of us," Robertson said. "But we have to move on from it. We have to be positive, otherwise it's pointless being here. We have to believe.

"Okay, we might have some doubters again within our country. Our country was right behind us in the summer.

"We get they're disappointed and now it's up to us to drag them along with us again.

"It's up to us to show on the pitch we're willing to fight, win games, and put in the hard yards.

"If we do that, we know our fans will come with us as well."

Robertson spoke at length with his head coach ahead of their upcoming campaign and said it was the first time a review of a camp had more negatives than positives.

Scotland proved they could compete with Europe's elite nations during their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, finishing second behind Spain in Group A, who went on to win the tournament, losing just one of their eight qualifying matches.

They have also impressed in the Nations League, winning 10 of their 16 matches in the competition (D2 L4), with their 62.5% win ratio the best of any nation in the tournament.

Clarke has also introduced the likes of Vancouver Whitecaps attacker Ryan Gauld and Robertson's Liverpool team-mate Ben Doak, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough for their next two fixtures.

And the 30-year-old believes those additions will help his side in the forward areas, but acknowledges they need to be more consistent against the best in the business. 

"We know that's what we need to improve - that's the next step for us," Robertson continued.

"That's us been to two tournaments now and only got two draws. We've not progressed the way we would have liked.

"We need to look at that. And in the build up when we played the stronger nations like England and France we didn't show how good we can be.

"But also not that far in the past we beat the European champions here at Hampden, we also beat a really good Denmark team. We competed against Spain away as well.

"We need to get more consistent at doing it. We've done it previously but not all the time. That's what we need to get better at, especially at tournaments."

Arne Slot is keen to work with the current Liverpool squad before rushing to make any signings ahead of his first season in charge at Anfield. 

Liverpool are one of only two Premier League sides yet to conduct any business in the transfer window, along with Fulham, who are expected to soon bring Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe to Craven Cottage.

Concern over a lack of transfer activity remains rife among some Reds supporters as they look to improve on their third-place finish last season and close the gap to both Manchester City and Arsenal. 

However, Slot explained the lack of incomings and his ongoing discussions with Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, saying: "The first aim is to work with these players.

"There is an important line at the club that young players come through.

"Our standards are really high when it comes to bringing in new players. Of course, Richard and I are trying to improve the squad where possible."

Liverpool are continuing their pre-season preparations in the United States, with Slot naming Mohamed Salah among his 28-man squad for the three fixtures.

The Reds face Real Betis in Pittsburgh on Saturday, before taking on Manchester United and Arsenal, but left-back Andy Robertson is expected to play no part Stateside.

Scotland international Robertson returned to Kirkby last week but did not feature in the pre-season defeat against Preston North End.

The 30-year-old is almost certain to miss all three games as he continues to recover from an ongoing injury he carried during Scotland's woeful Euro 2024 campaign. 

"He is not fully fit yet. But we are expecting him at the end of the tour – maybe just after the tour – to be fully fit again," Slot added. 

"He took a small injury into the Euros and afterwards he had to recover from that after playing those games. But we will expect him back after our tour – he joined us over here."

Slot was also asked about the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has one year remaining on his current deal and has reportedly garnered interest from Real Madrid.

When probed about the 25-year-old's future, Slot provided a response that echoed predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

"My answer would probably be a bit boring and I think it's the same answer you've heard for the last five, six or seven years," said Slot. "Contract situations are not discussed at this place. Keep trying, I would say!"

Andy Robertson says he is "excited" to work with new Liverpool manager Arne Slot and is hopeful the club can pick up where it left off under Jurgen Klopp.

The Dutchman officially took over at Liverpool on Saturday after making the switch from Feyenoord after three successful seasons.

He led Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title in 2023 and won the KNVB Beker this season, while also being named Manager of the Year on two occasions.

Robertson, who was signed by Klopp in July 2017, said that while he has not spoken to Slot, he is looking forward to seeing what is in store for Liverpool this season.

"I haven't spoken to [Slot] yet," Robertson, who is preparing for Scotland's European Championship campaign, said to Sky Sports. "I think he's leaving us to focus on the Euros.

"It's an exciting new challenge. Obviously, the old era was pretty special, and I've got a lot to be thankful for for that manager, but excited now by the new manager coming in – new ideas, new voice – and I'm really excited for what can come with that.

"I've got no doubts we can keep that momentum going. From all the reports we've had, the manager's very good and I can't wait to see that up close."

Klopp ended Liverpool's 30-year wait for a top-flight title when they won the Premier League for the first time in 2020 and also won the Champions League, the FA Cup, two EFL Cups and the Club World Cup during his nine years in charge.

Robertson admitted Klopp's legacy might be tough to live up to, but he had faith the team would be able to get off to a good start under Slot.

"The last eight, nine years were pretty special. Maybe they're going a bit into the unknown, but it has to be exciting; the squad's in a good place, we had a good season last season," he added.

"Yes, it could have been more, but the aim at the start of the season was to get back in the Champions League, and we ended up with a trophy as well. You have to take that as a positive.

"[Klopp] has left the club in a really good place so now we have to carry it forward. The manager will come in, and he'll recruit a really good squad, and I'm sure he'll want to bring in some new faces as well.

"We have to go again. We showed for large parts of last season we could challenge for the league and that has to be the aim. The manager has won trophies before, and he'll want that feeling again. We’ve got to be at our best to try and achieve that."

Andy Robertson says Liverpool "cannot thank Jurgen Klopp enough" while Virgil van Dijk was lost for words as the German signed off on an emotional day at Anfield.

Klopp oversaw a 2-0 victory over Wolves in his final game in charge of the Reds, who celebrated their much-loved boss.

The Anfield crowd filled up earlier than normal before kick-off to serenade the German, who leaves with a Premier League crown and Champions League glory to his name, and those tributes continued throughout Sunday's victory.

Two of those came from players he brought to the club and went on to play a crucial role in his side's success during just under nine years at the helm.

"We can't thank Jurgen Klopp enough and all the players could do today was try to win for him, and we managed to send him off on a high," Robertson told PLP.

"Every time he stood up, he would have got a massive cheer. He tried to take the limelight off him and it just wasn't possible. What he's done for the club is magnificent. We have a lot to be grateful for and thankful for. 

"He gave me a chance at Liverpool, signed me, made me the player I am and helped me win trophies. He's improved all of us as people. That's what we're all grateful for. He always took time for our families and for us. That's what we'll miss the most.

He's done amazing at this club. I think he needs to get off in the sun, have a beer in his hand and have a well-deserved rest.

"We wanted to send him off like we have, but of course, there's a new era upon us. We're all excited and we have to be. We need to be on board.

"We will be ready to get on board with the new manager and help him as much as we can. This club demands success. We're excited for the new challenge."

"I've got no words, it's a very emotional day," skipper Van Dijk added on Sky Sports. "Liverpool is Liverpool. It's special and you see that today.

"It was always going to be a tough afternoon for everyone for different reasons, of course."

Steve Clarke remains confident that Scotland will be ready for Euro 2024 this summer despite their winless run being extended to seven games with a 1-0 friendly defeat by Northern Ireland at Hampden Park.

The Scotland boss was looking for a response following a 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday night but midfielder Conor Bradley’s first international goal gave Northern Ireland a first win in Mount Florida in 50 years.

Scotland have not been on a seven-game winless run since August 2004 to March 2005 and they take on Gibraltar and Finland in June friendlies before facing Euro 2024 hosts Germany in the opening game of the tournament at the Allianz Arena.

“I’m not counting,” said Clarke, who revealed captain Andrew Robertson will be assessed at Liverpool after going off with an injury. “We are going to be ready in June and that is the most important thing.

“The performance was okay, we wanted to win the game.

“Credit to Northern Ireland, I thought they were excellent, good shape, discipline, defended with their lives. We had 14 shots blocked, that is good defending.

“They had two chances and scored with one of them.

“They got the goal with the deflection, we didn’t find enough to get the goal to equalise or go on to win the game.

“We had a lot of the game. We tried our best to open them up. It was difficult to find space.

“It was a totally different game to what we have played recently, we were playing against the top teams and they open the pitch and you saw on Friday night that we manged to create a number of really good chances.

“Tonight when we needed a little bit of craft or guile towards the last third of the pitch we couldn’t find that and that is basically why we lose the game.

“We had more than the lion’s share of possession, 14 shots, but not one good enough to go into the back of the net.

“It’s probably fair to say we’re not very good at friendlies because we don’t win too many of them.

“Let’s hope when we come to the competitive games in June we are ready to go. I’m sure we will be.

“The biggest thing for us is to be ready for June.

“I’m a little bit late into the press conference. I would rather be sitting here in my position.

“Unfortunately Wales have just been knocked out on penalty kicks. It’s not all doom and gloom.”

Steve Clarke wants Scotland to use their final Euro 2024 qualifiers against Georgia and Norway to regain their momentum ahead of the finals in Germany next summer.

The Scots initially suspected they might need positive results from their last two games in Group A to qualify so organised a warm-weather training camp in Turkey at the start of next week to give themselves the best possible preparation ahead of their penultimate fixture in Tbilisi on Thursday.

However, after a blistering start to their campaign, they sealed their place at the tournament with two games to spare, so their main priority in the upcoming camp is to spark an upturn in results after successive defeats against England, Spain and France.

“We’ll be doing something similar to what we did when we went to Moldova (in 2021, when they had a warm-weather training camp in Spain), so we’ll leave early, on Sunday night after the games, and we’re going to stop off in Turkey and have a couple of days of hopefully warm weather there to break up the journey,” Clarke said at a press conference on Wednesday after naming his squad for the double-header.

“We identified these two games – Georgia away and Norway at home – as crucial games in the qualification process, but credit to the players, they’ve already qualified, so the games are not quite as crucial.

“But when you strip it back, we’ve lost the last three games, so we want to pick up a little bit of momentum going into the tournament next summer, so these two games are very important for us.

“It will be good to come here to finish the campaign with a home game against Norway and hopefully a good performance.

“It will be a chance for the crowd to thank the players and a chance for the players to thank the crowd. It will be a bit of a poor night if we don’t win the game, so let’s make sure we win the game.”

The 2-0 defeat by Spain in Seville saw Scotland relinquish top spot in Group A on goal difference. Spain finish away to Cyprus and at home to Georgia.

“I think to finish top is going to be very difficult,” said Clarke. “As I sit here now, it’s difficult for me to see Spain dropping any points from their last two games.

“We’ll just focus on ourselves and, if we can finish on the same points as Spain and they manage to top the group by an unfortunate slip from Aaron Hickey in the 2-0 defeat by Spain in Seville, we’ll take that.”

Scotland are missing four established starters for this month’s double-header, with goalkeeper Angus Gunn, captain Andrew Robertson, and fellow defenders Kieran Tierney and Aaron Hickey all injured.

Rangers defender John Souttar and Millwall forward Kevin Nisbet are the other notable absentees following their recent fitness issues.

Uncapped duo Josh Doig and Robby McCrorie, both of whom have been in previous camps, have been included, along with Celtic right-back Anthony Ralston.

“This is probably the toughest it’s been in terms of injuries in the last year or so,” said Clarke. “I remember in September last year we had to go to Ukraine in the Nations League with pretty much a shadow squad, but we dug in and got the result required.

“That’s what we’ll do this time. We can talk about the ones who are not here, but I always prefer to talk about the ones that are going to be here, so fingers crossed there are no more injuries before the squad meet up on Sunday.”

With first-choice Gunn missing with an injury he sustained for Norwich against Leeds last month, Motherwell’s Liam Kelly and Hearts’ Zander Clark, both of whom made their international bows in the friendly defeat by France last month, will vie to make their competitive debuts over the next two games.

“Obviously one of them is going to get a chance to play in the games coming up, so it’s a big camp for them,” said Clarke. “They know they have to impress.

“They’ve been in a lot of squads so they understand it and know the expectation around them. Hopefully they train well and are ready to play.”

Clarke included uncapped Verona left-back Doig after he was initially named in Scot Gemmill’s under-21 squad this week.

“Josh is doing well in Serie A, playing pretty regularly for his club,” said Clarke.

“He’s a good, athletic player who gets up and down the line. It will be nice to see how he’s improved and how he fits into the camp since we last saw him last September.”

Clarke insists he has not allowed his attention to turn towards his final 23-man squad for the Euros just yet.

“It won’t be a headache, it will be a difficult choice,” he said. “There’s obviously going to be a lot of people that want to be there.

“For me, it’s about not thinking too far ahead to picking the 23 because as this camp shows, injuries can turn up at any time.

“There’s a long way to go before the final squad is picked. Every game between now and the squad selection for the Euros next summer is a chance for somebody to impress so hopefully they take their chances.”

Liverpool’s late show fired Jurgen Klopp’s men to the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 comeback win at Wolves.

Andrew Robertson and Hugo Bueno’s own goal saw the Reds escape Molineux with a victory which looked unlikely at half-time.

Hwang Hee-Chan’s early opener gave Wolves the lead as the hosts dominated and only a woeful miss by Matheus Cunha stopped them going further ahead.

Liverpool were wretched in the first half but slowly improved, levelling through Cody Gakpo before breaking Wolves’ resistance with four minutes left for a third comeback win of the season.

Boss Klopp had unloaded a new blast at the fixture schedule ahead of the early kick-off and his mood would have darkened just seven minutes in.

Vibrant Wolves had already begun to stretch Liverpool before they broke at pace from the edge of their own area.

Cunha sent Pedro Neto scampering down the left and the forward glided past the flimsy Dominik Szoboszlai and Joel Matip.

He had little support but rolled the ball across the front of goal for Hwang to slide in at the far post as Alisson failed to make the ground.

Manager Gary O’Neil promised Wolves had a plan to be aggressive and they continued to press with debutant Jean-Ricner Bellegarde a bustling presence, in contrast to the sloppy £60m Szoboszlai.

Neto was a constant menace, steering over Nelson Semedo’s cross before firing wide from 20 yards, with Liverpool shellshocked and unable to find rhythm.

If Klopp, who patrolled his technical area with typical gusto, expected a response he was found wanting. Gakpo was anonymous, Mo Salah timid and Diego Jota wasted their only opening of the half, firing over from 15 yards.

While masterminding Bournemouth’s escape from relegation last season, O’Neil oversaw a 1-0 win against Liverpool and the boss believes the Reds will challenge for the title again.

After three wins from their opening four games, he expected to see an improved Liverpool at Molineux yet for spells it was one-way traffic as Wolves dominated and should have doubled their lead after 33 minutes.

Again Neto was the architect, bamboozling Joe Gomez to cross for an unmarked Cunha, only for the striker to completely mistime his header from five yards to let Liverpool off the hook.

It was a glaring miss but the pedestrian Reds were unable to take immediate advantage, Gakpo slicing wide and nodding over.

There was, at least, a small spark from Liverpool before the break when Jose Sa spilled Jota’s cross to Salah, whose shot was blocked, with Sa then saving Szoboszlai’s follow up.

The fear for Wolves was Liverpool would not be that passive in the second half and Klopp responded by introducing Luis Diaz for Alexis Mac Allister.

It almost paid off immediately when the forward headed Robertson’s cross inches wide 90 seconds after the re-start – and the visitors levelled 10 minutes later.

Wolves were unable to rob Diaz and Gakpo on the edge of the box, with the ball eventually rolling for Salah to cross low for Gakpo to tap in from close range.

It was the striker’s final touch, Darwin Nunez replacing him, while Wolves’ good work was in the process of being completely undone.

From being in charge, the hosts had their backs to the wall and only a last-ditch block from Max Kilman stopped Nunez snatching the lead.

Yet the Reds struck with four minutes left after Sa gifted them a second.

The goalkeeper’s poor clearance was collected by Robertson mid-way inside the Wolves half. He advanced to dart into the area, swapped passes with Salah and finish under Sa.

There was still time for a third in stoppage time when Elliott’s 20-yard drive clipped Bueno to wrongfoot Sa and roll in off the post.

Constantine Hatzidakis will not face any punishment for appearing to aim an elbow at Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson, The Football Association (FA) has confirmed.

The incident occurred at half-time of Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, with Robertson approaching Hatzidakis, an assistant referee, who then seemed to throw his arm up with a pointed elbow towards the Scotland captain.

The FA opened an investigation into the incident and said Hatzidakis would not be assigned to any games until it was completed.

On Thursday, it was confirmed that the official would not face any further action, with a statement reading: "We have thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence in relation to the recent incident at Anfield involving the Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson and match official Constantine Hatzidakis, and we will be taking no further action.

"Our comprehensive process involved reviewing detailed statements from Liverpool and PGMOL, as well as multiple angles of video footage, in relation to both the incident and its surrounding circumstances."

Hatzidakis also released a statement via the PGMOL, explaining that he had apologised to Robertson wanted to draw a line under the incident.

"It was certainly not my intention to make any contact with Andy as I pulled my arm away from him and for that I have apologised," Hatzidakis said.

“I fully assisted The FA with their investigation and have discussed the matter directly with Andy Robertson during an open and positive conversation. It was certainly not my intention to make any contact with Andy as I pulled my arm away from him and for that I have apologised.

"I look forward to returning to officiating matches."

Andrew Robertson warned Liverpool team-mates they cannot afford to make any more mistakes if they are to meet their minimum expectation of Champions League qualification.

The Reds have endured a disappointing season, with Jurgen Klopp's efforts not helped by a string of significant injuries to key players.

Last season, Liverpool won an EFL Cup and FA Cup double, reached the Champions League final, and finished just one point behind Premier League winners Manchester City.

However, this term has seen them fail to defend either cup crown, they were eliminated from the Champions League at the last-16 stage, and are facing an uphill battle to finish in the top four domestically.

Sixth-placed Liverpool are seven points behind Tottenham in fourth, and although the Reds have two games in hand on Spurs, so do Newcastle United, who only trail the north Londoners by a single point.

The underwhelming nature of Liverpool's campaign is not lost on Robertson, who thinks they are on their last life if they want to pip Spurs and Newcastle – they now face consecutive games against City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

"The motivations are the exact same," he told reporters ahead of Saturday's trip to City. "We want Champions League football, and so the motivation is the exact same as though we were going for trophies.

"It is obviously a big week; we are playing against three big teams and it's going to be an intense week, but it's what you look forward to when you come to this club. These are the big games you want to be involved in.

"We don't want to be in this position, and…we don't really have time to waste, we don't have any mistakes left in us if we want to achieve top four."

He added: "[Expectations] have to be on the highest level when you play at this club – you don't get an option not to do that, the people around the club demand that. I think we do that, but we have just lacked a little bit of consistency this season.

"In the last five or six years, consistency is the one word that would be put next to our name, as we always showed up and even when not at our best, we still managed to grind out results. We haven’t done that this season, and we have to fix that."

Despite their issues this season, Robertson remains adamant Liverpool belong in the Champions League.

But he accepts the Reds cannot take qualification for granted.

"Going into April, not being in the Champions League, FA Cup or League Cup, and then not being in a title race is so disappointing – it's a position we don't want to be in.

"We are out of every competition, but we still believe we are a team that can compete in every competition.

"So to fix that, we have to be in these tournaments again next season, and the only way to do that is finishing in the top four.

"So we've got 12 games to fix it, and we are determined to put our all into those next 12 games."

Liverpool wanted a fresh start in 2023 but Andrew Robertson says the Reds have been "nowhere near good enough" this season and played "worse" since the World Cup.

The Scotland international captained Jurgen Klopp's side at Brighton and Hove Albion as Kauro Mitoma's last-minute strike dumped the FA Cup holders out in the fourth round.

Liverpool had taken the lead through Harvey Elliot before Lewis Dunk's fortuitous first-half equaliser paved the way for Mitoma's deserved late winner in Sunday's 2-1 triumph.

Klopp's men are out of both domestic cups and sit only ninth in the Premier League, having won just eight of their opening 19 top-flight games.

Having lost nine times already in 31 outings across all competitions this campaign, Robertson bemoaned Liverpool's abject performances that have continued after the World Cup break.

"This season has been nowhere near good enough," Robertson told ITV Sport.

"At the start of the year, we wanted a fresh start, but that hasn't happened – we've been worse. In the league, we haven't been good enough and now we're out of both cups."

The Reds' downfall may have appeared somewhat of a surprise after falling narrowly short of an unprecedented quadruple last term.

Liverpool missed out in the Champions League final to Real Madrid and saw Manchester City secure the Premier League title on the last day of the season, though they lifted the FA Cup and EFL Cup.

Sadio Mane's sale to Bayern Munich and Roberto Firmino's diminishing role should be factored in, while Mohamed Salah has failed to hit his usual lofty heights after scoring just nine goals in 19 league games.

Luis Diaz has been out injured after a promising first campaign at Anfield and signings Darwin Nunez and Cody Gapko are still settling in, yet Robertson struggled to explain why Liverpool continue to falter.

The left-back added: "It's really disappointing. You can't put your finger on one thing that's gone wrong. It's more than that. It's about trying to put a performance together where all these things click and that's proving difficult right now.

"You can tell we're not as confident in front of goal, and defensively we're still a wee bit open in certain areas.

"We were on the back of two clean sheets, which was positive, but today, two disappointing goals and they had a couple of big chances as well.

"We need to try and get the confidence back. It's easier said than done but that's the only way we can pick up results. You have to be able to score goals and you have to be able to keep clean sheets.

"We're not managing that just now and we need to do it. We keep saying that and it doesn't help the fans. I feel sorry for them, the way we're putting on a show for them just now.

"We let them down again and we're obviously disappointed to be falling out of the cup."

The Premier League is back, and in many ways, it felt like it never left.

A number of teams picked up where they left off for the World Cup in Monday's action, with leaders Arsenal securing a win against West Ham, though having to come from behind to do so.

Tottenham repeated their party trick of recovering from losing positions, though had to settle for a point at Brentford as Harry Kane kept up his superb Boxing Day record.

Liverpool came back with a hard-fought win at Aston Villa, with teenager Stefan Bajcetic scoring his first goal for the club, while Newcastle United blew away Leicester City in the first half at the King Power Stadium.

Stats Perform takes a closer look at some of the more interesting stats from the day.

Arsenal 3-1 West Ham: Gunners keep up record to fighting back against Hammers

Arsenal went in 1-0 down at Emirates Stadium at half-time after Said Benrahma's penalty, but came from behind thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah. It made it the eighth time they have come from behind to beat West Ham in the Premier League, more than they have against any other opponent.

Hammers boss David Moyes has now lost 15 Premier League away games against Arsenal, equalling Harry Redknapp for the most away defeats against a specific opponent in the competition (15 vs Manchester United).

In the presence of Arsene Wenger for the first time since he left the club, the Gunners won their 10th consecutive Premier League home game, the first time they have managed that since April 2019, while this is the first time they have done so while scoring two or more goals each time since November 2017.

Saka seems to enjoy his Christmas, as he has scored in three consecutive Boxing Day games (also 2020 vs Chelsea and 2021 vs Norwich City), the first Arsenal player to do so since Thierry Henry between 2002 and 2004.

Today was the second time Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard has provided two assists in a single Premier League game, with the other coming on Boxing Day last season against Norwich.

Brentford 2-2 Tottenham: Kane puts penalty woe bee-hind him

Following on from his agonising penalty miss in England's World Cup quarter-final loss to France, Kane kept his composure to plant a header past David Raya as Spurs came from 2-0 down to earn a point on Monday.

Kane has now scored more Premier League goals on Boxing Day than any other player in the competition's history (10), finding the net in all seven of his appearances on December 26, while he has also scored against all 32 teams that he has faced in the Premier League – the best such 100 per cent record of any player.

One thing that will concern boss Antonio Conte is that Spurs have conceded the opening goal in each of their last six Premier League matches; their longest run of conceding first in the competition since April 2014 under Tim Sherwood (also six). They have also conceded two or more goals in six consecutive league games for the first time since May 2003.

Brentford are now winless in their last 14 meetings with Spurs in all competitions (D5 L9), since a 2-0 home win in the second tier in March 1948.

Ivan Toney scored the second for the Bees, making him the first English player to register 30 goal involvements (23 goals, 7 assists) in his first 50 Premier League appearances since Jamie Vardy in 2015 (also 30).

Leicester City 0-3 Newcastle United: Almiron continues to fly

It was a fast start by Eddie Howe's men, going 2-0 up against Leicester inside seven minutes – the earliest they had been 2-0 up in a Premier League game since January 2007 (seventh minute v Aston Villa). In fact, it was the earliest a Premier League team had been 2-0 up on Boxing Day since 2010 (Manchester City v Newcastle, after five mins).

Leicester conceded three goals in the first half of a home league game for the first time since September 2003 against Manchester United.

Miguel Almiron picked up where he left off with a superb strike, and has now scored nine goals in 16 games in the Premier League this season, as many as he had scored in his previous four campaigns in the competition combined (nine in 110 appearances).

Newcastle have won six in a row in the Premier League for the first time since 2012 under Alan Pardew. In fact, the Magpies have won 21 Premier League matches in 2022, their most in a single year since 1995, when they won 23.

Howe is only the third English manager to win more than 20 Premier League matches in a single year (21 in 2022 so far), after Kevin Keegan (24 in 1994 and 23 in 1995 with Newcastle) and Roy Evans (22 in 1996 with Liverpool).

Aston Villa 1-3 Liverpool: Robertson provides historic assist

It has not been the best campaign so far for Liverpool, but despite a World Cup being sandwiched in between, this made it three consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since winning their final three games of last season.

Mohamed Salah both scored and assisted in the win, taking his totals to 125 goals and 50 assists for the club in the Premier League. The Egyptian is only the second player with 50+ goals and 50+ assists for the club in the competition, along with Steven Gerrard (120 goals, 92 assists).

Andrew Robertson provided the ball for Salah's fifth-minute opener, his 54th Premier League assist, making him the all-time leading assister among defenders in Premier League history, one more than Leighton Baines (53), while 10 of his assists have come for Salah, with only Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane providing more for him (12 times each).

Bajcetic came off the bench to seal the win, scoring his first Premier League goal for Liverpool aged 18 years and 65 days, making him their third-youngest Premier League scorer, behind only Michael Owen (17y 143d) and Raheem Sterling (17y 317d). Bajcetic is also the second-youngest Spaniard to score in the competition, behind only Cesc Fabregas in 2004 (17y 113d).

Another youth prospect, Ben Doak, came off the bench for Liverpool to make his Premier League debut aged 17 years and 45 days, becoming the youngest ever Scottish player in the competition's history, overtaking Nigel Quashie in 1995 for Queens Park Rangers (17 years, 163 days).

Jurgen Klopp is certain the goals will soon arrive for Darwin Nunez after his "exceptional" performance in Liverpool's Boxing Day win against Aston Villa.

Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Stefan Bajcetic got on the scoresheet as Liverpool returned to Premier League action with a 3-1 victory at Villa Park, where Nunez gave a tireless display.

Nunez led all players on the pitch for shots (six), attempts on target (four), expected goals (1.15 xG) and touches in the opposition area (12), but the striker failed to convert any of his four big chances. 

While some have criticised Nunez for his inconsistency in front of goal, Klopp has no concerns about the Uruguayan's progress.

"It's incredible, what a game he played," Klopp told Amazon Prime Video after the win, which put Liverpool within five points off the top four.

"Of course, he will score. I was in this situation very often with strikers, and everything will be fine. His game was exceptional."

Liverpool have now won three consecutive Premier League games for the first time this season, and Klopp was pleased with their ability to withstand strong pressure from the hosts.

"It was a top performance in a difficult game," Klopp said. "We played exceptionally in the first half, even though Villa had their moments. We were really good, I liked what I saw.

"In the second half we missed the last step a little bit. Aston Villa were pushing hard, that's normal in a home game. We knew that would happen. You have to get through these periods."

Salah converted a low cross from Andrew Robertson to open the scoring, as the left-back surpassed Leighton Baines to become the defender with the most assists in Premier League history (54).

Speaking to the club's official website, Robertson admitted he had been eyeing the record throughout the World Cup break.

"Full-back has evolved a lot and it's about going forward now as well as defending," Robertson said. "But first and foremost, I want to defend and things like that – but it's a big part of our game. 

"During the break I just wanted to try to get back and beat it. First game back, it's always nice. Look, I'm not really into individual things, I'm all for the team. 

"But when you do stuff like that and you're in the Premier League against some unbelievable defenders, it's always nice to put yourself at the top there."

Andrew Robertson surpassed Leighton Baines as the defender with the most assists in Premier League history by teeing up Mohamed Salah's early goal at Aston Villa on Monday.

Liverpool needed just five minutes to hit the front on their return to league action, with Robertson playing a key role by breaking Villa's offside trap to deliver a low cross for Salah to convert.

That represented Robertson's 54th Premier League assist – one more than former Everton and Wigan Athletic left-back Baines managed before his retirement in 2020.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – who sits third on that list with 45 assists – showcased his own vision for Liverpool's opener with a sublime pass to release his fellow full-back Robertson.

Robertson's assist was also his fifth in the Premier League this season, more than any other player has managed for Jurgen Klopp's side – Salah is second with three.

Andrew Robertson says Liverpool's players will "just focus on playing" amid talk of the Premier League giants being up for sale.

Fenway Sports Group is looking for outside investment to help pursue the club's goals, while also being open to the possibility of a full sale.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Robertson said he and his team-mates cannot be distracted by talk of a potential takeover, with the Premier League season set to resume following the World Cup, which concludes in Qatar on Sunday.

"Honestly, we just focus on playing football," he said. "Obviously you see the stuff in the press and you see stuff around potential new buyers or that the club has been put up for sale and things like that, but we can't control it.

"All we can do is play football, all we can do is control what is on the pitch. There's enough work on the pitch for us to not have to worry about anything else and yes, whatever else happens [with the owners] will happen."

Liverpool are on a warm-weather training camp in Dubai after a frustrating start to the 2022-23 season where they won just six of their 14 league games (D4, L4), only winning their first away game in the league at Tottenham in November.

After finishing one point behind Manchester City in the title race and losing 1-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League final last season, Liverpool came agonisingly close to completing a unique quadruple, having won the EFL Cup and FA Cup.

However, they have already lost more league games this season (four) than in 2021-22 (two), and Robertson acknowledged they must rediscover their consistency if they are to recover their campaign, particularly away from home.

"I think over the past few years, one of the things you can say about this team is that we've been so consistent - we've just lacked that a bit this season," he said. 

"The setbacks have been too common for a team like us that people have become used to us not dropping too many points.

"Our away form has not been where it needs to be. Obviously away from home in the Champions League we did well at Rangers [7-1 win] and Ajax [3-0 win], but it's not quite been to the standard we need to be in the Premier League.

"Home games are important and we have to take care of those but to compete in this league, to go for the Champions League places or the league itself you need to be winning away games and we haven't quite done that.

"It's been a wee bit inconsistent, which isn't like us, and it's important now that we get that consistency back for the second half of the season. That's the only way we will get the points we need and start climbing the table.

"We're obviously not in a position where we want to be."

Andy Robertson described Liverpool's start to the season as "really poor" after the Reds failed to win any of their opening three league games for the first time in 10 years, insisting better results "need to come quickly".

Goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford handed Erik ten Hag his first league win as Manchester United boss at Liverpool's expense on Monday, as the Red Devils prevailed 2-1 behind a much-improved performance after losing their previous two games.

The defeat was Liverpool's first in the Premier League in 2022, with Jurgen Klopp's side having previously won 16 and drawn five of their league games this calendar year.

After coming from behind to claim draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace prior to visiting Old Trafford, Liverpool have now failed to win their first three games of a league campaign for the first time since Brendan Rodgers was at the helm in 2012-13.

Left-back Robertson knows Liverpool need to improve sharply, telling Sky Sports: "It's definitely not been the start to the season that we wanted, it's been really poor.

"We give every team a goal start which is the basis of the game, you can’t keep on giving yourself an uphill battle.

"We've conceded an early goal again, we've started slow again and that's what needs to change. We can't keep going one behind. Probably in the warm-up it was the quietest I have ever heard this stadium – they wanted something to lift them and we unfortunately gave them it and then they obviously got behind their team.

"Two points from nine is not the start that we wanted. We need to pick up our performances individually and collectively very quickly. We need to kickstart our season, that's for sure."

Having gone close to winning an unprecedented quadruple last campaign, Liverpool are already five points adrift of title favourites Manchester City after Pep Guardiola's men made an unbeaten start.

While Robertson insists the title race is not on Liverpool's minds, he knows there is little room for error moving forward, adding: "It's early on in the season but even if we were at the top of the league we wouldn't be thinking about the title race.

"We've always been consistent with that every season, you don't really think about it until you get closer to see where everyone's at.

"The start of the season is always a bit messy where you just try to find your feet. This season we haven't done it and yeah, we're not thinking about that.

"We need to get our first win on the board. We need to try to get ahead first in the game and try to put in a good performance, get our first clean sheet and get back to our basics.

"And if we can do that, that's the only way we will win games, it's as simple as that. We've always been a hard-working team, we've always been honest, we've always been passionate.

"We need to keep doing that, but we also need to be clinical in both boxes and if we do that I believe the results will come. But they need to come quickly."

Klopp echoed those sentiments in his post-match news conference, ruing Liverpool's injury problems but acknowledging they should be performing to a higher level.

"It's not the nicest thing to look at, that's clear, but it's our situation. Look, we can talk about all the things but in the end I saw tonight a game," Klopp said.

"So, during the week it is not easy because we have 15 senior outfield players, I think, in training. That's obviously not cool. But for the game tonight, I liked the line-up, saw good performances as well tonight.

"So, our situation is how it is. It's not perfect but good enough to play better tonight, and I think our situation is good enough that we could've won the game tonight if we would have played slightly better."

Klopp moved to play down his post-match confrontation with Bruno Fernandes after appearing frustrated by perceived simulation from United, adding: "It was not animated. It was the most harmless conversation I ever had, with a player who is as emotional as I maybe was!

"It was the situation with the centre-half, [Lisandro] Martinez, when he went down. He was talking to me and said, 'You would do the same', but I said, 'No, I cannot fall like this'.

"It was all fine after the game, he told me he needs these kind of conversations during the game and so I said, 'Fine, use me!'."