Liverpool have been here before with their Scottish full-back sparking a vital late win and the signs bode well for Jurgen Klopp

By the time Andy Robertson had laid the ball into the path of Mohamed Salah, the Scotsman simply couldn’t stop running.

Squeezing the ball past Jose Sa to hand Liverpool a vital lead late on against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the left-back was quick to make a beeline for the away supporters caught up in the joy of another last-gasp winner on the road in the Premier League.

Appointed as stand-in captain in the absence of the suspended Virgil van Dijk and the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, it was somewhat fitting that the goal-shy Robertson produced the goods in Liverpool’s hour of need in the West Midlands.

That was despite it being a far-from-vintage display at Molineux as Liverpool spent the first half labouring in their efforts to find a way to break down Gary O’Neil’s side.

Diogo Jota’s opportunistic volley early on was only added to by a late flurry of thwarted efforts from Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah just seconds before the interval, in which the Reds entered a goal down after the brilliant Pedro Neto teed up Hwang Hee-Chan for the opener.

Similarly to events at St James’ Park last month and on another day Liverpool’s hopes of a dramatic turnaround could, and perhaps should, have been dead and buried after forward Matheus Cunha spurned a golden opportunity to extend his side’s lead as he failed to connect cleanly with Neto’s delivery.

“We weren’t at the races in the first half, we can come up with excuses like lads playing across the world but at the end of the day, you have to be ready to play the game,” Robertson told TNT Sports after the match. “I think it took us 45 minutes to get into it, Wolves were the better team, they created the best chances, put us under pressure and we made too many mistakes.”

Jurgen Klopp revealed he entered the dressing room at half time alarmed at the performance his side had produced, with Salah, Cody Gakpo and Jota starved of service as Liverpool mustered a measly two shots on goal. Both of those, from Szoboszlai and Salah, occurred in additional time at the end of the half.

But following the introduction of Luis Diaz, Liverpool immediately played with much more intent and within 10 minutes had drawn themselves level when Gakpo was on hand to prod home Salah’s drilled cross. From there on in, it only ever looked like one team would be leaving Molineux with all three points.

Robertson was insistent on leading the comeback as he continued his blossoming relationship with Diaz down the left. But ironically, it was due to events on the right that the Scotland captain ultimately changed the Reds’ fortunes as he intercepted Sa’s attempt at a fast break before playing a pinpoint one-two with Salah.

Latching onto the ball uncharacteristically close to goal, the No.26 dispatched the Egyptian’s archetypal, weight-perfect pass with ease to hand the Reds their first lead of the afternoon 85 minutes into the contest. Pandemonium ensued.

Now, fronting up to the travelling Kop housed in the lower tier of Molineux’s Steve Bull stand, Robertson was mobbed by team-mates Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Salah before Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez joined in the celebrations.

Scoring for the first time since the sides met in May 2022, it was no surprise to see such an intense explosion of emotion from Robertson. A collector’s item maybe given he has scored just nine times since he joined from Hull City in 2017, but the Scot isn’t alien to playing his part in a come-from-behind victory in the West Midlands.

Recalling the heroics of Liverpool’s class of 2019/20, it was four years ago that Robertson provided the stage for Sadio Mane to seal the most dramatic of victories on the Reds’ voyage to the first Premier League title since 1990. Trailing Aston Villa in the 86th minute, the No.26 powered a header past Tom Heaton before instructing his team-mates to race back towards the halfway line in search of a winner.

His efforts paid off. Just minutes later the entirety of Villa Park held its breath as Alexander-Arnold’s corner was flicked on by Mane at the near post and trickled into the far post.

However, it wasn’t just Aston Villa who felt the wrath of Liverpool’s late sucker punches that campaign as they amassed 19 points from losing position on the way to a first league title in 30 years; Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, Wolves, West Ham and Bournemouth all too being caught by the Reds on their way to Anfield immortality.

In fact, in Klopp’s seven full seasons at Anfield, Liverpool have recovered 116 points from losing positions. Of that tally, the largest amount (20) came in the 2021/22 campaign as the Reds tallied 92 points in the Premier League. And on two occasions (2018/19 and 21/22) their powers of recovery have seen them top the Premier League charts for points from losing positions

Impressively, just five games into the new season, that tally of 116 has already been strengthened by nine points with Liverpool’s heroics in the West Midlands adding to their victories against Newcastle United and Bournemouth back in August.

“Usually you learn things like this about your team later in the season,” said Klopp after full time on Saturday. “So you learn obviously pretty quickly and early. Yes, we are not stable yet, we are not. But then I think with all the changes we made now and again for this game, how can we be stable? I don’t ask for that.”

It’s no wonder Saturday afternoon’s wild celebrations at Molineux had a feel of deja vu about them.