It's the 1st of April, 2023, and Liverpool have just sunk to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat against rivals Manchester City – the ninth in the Premier League term – to further exacerbate the woes of Jurgen Klopp's side.
Having taken the helm in 2015, the German had utterly transformed the Merseyside outfit, who had spent years languishing below expectations barring an anomalous, Luis Suarez-fuelled title-challenging season.
While the Reds supporters were quickly emboldened by their manager's eccentric brilliance and creation of a new identity and atmosphere, few could have imagined the cascade of glinted silverware that was to pour into Anfield.
After suffering defeat across three major finals (League Cup vs Manchester City; Europa League vs Sevilla; Champions League vs Real Madrid) he ended his and Liverpool's hoodoo with a triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018/19 Champions League final.
Immense illustrious success ensued, but last season, a harsh and unforgiving winter entombed Liverpool in an icy chill and unravelled the progress made over many hard-fought years, with a stark loss of form and fluidity leaving the Reds chasing shadows in their pursuit of success, instead plummeting down the table and ultimately missing out on Champions League football this season.
What went wrong for Liverpool last season?
After so many years of togetherness, the cohesion that was once so carefully stitched into the squad's DNA came undone, with a backline positively devoid of confidence and protection and a sapped and aging midfield failing to match the intense demands of Klopp's turbo-charged system.
According to Opta, Liverpool faced 330 shots and allowed 103 big chances against them; across the 2020/21 season, 297 shots were faced but just 53 big chances were allowed on their goal, meaning the quality of defensive efforts was far greater, restricting the opposition to pot shots and half chances.
They also won the coveted award for the worst duel success rate in the Premier League, only winning 47.5% of challenges across the campaign.
All in all, not very good. The Athletic's James Pearce criticised the "dismal" displays and, despite a seven-match winning streak at the business end of the term, Manchester United and Newcastle United managed to stay ahead and held onto their positions in the top four.
One of the brighter performers that year, Andy Robertson sought to provide his presence and energy as a "Duracell Bunny" – as once heralded by writer Leanne Prescott – and largely did okay, but as Liverpool rose to form in the late stages courtesy of a tactical tweak that restored the under-fire Trent Alexander-Arnold on the alternate defensive wing, Robertson started to struggle.
He was branded “poor” just before the late-season feats by reporter James Nalton, having suffered an accurately rebuked afternoon against Manchester City, with Sofascore actually recording the Scotland captain as the worst performer of the match.
It was to be the final loss of the campaign, but one that Robertson failed to really recover from, with concerns that the change in system – bringing Alexander-Arnold inwards as an inverted full-back to maximise his creativity – bringing about concerns that the 29-year-old's marauding role as a full-back had been jeopardised.
At present, Darwin Nunez is probably enjoying the biggest resurgence in Liverpool's squad – though a special mention must be handed to Joe Gomez – after signing from Benfica for a club-record £85m.
The Uruguayan scored 15 goals but missed 20 big chances in the Premier League alone, criticised for being "not clinical enough" by talkSPORT's Tony Cascarino.
Robertson might've also struggled, but any worries have dissipated like a cloud of smoke, with the £100k-per-week phenom now flourishing down the left channel once again.
How has Andy Robertson been performing this season?
So far, Robertson has been ever-present for Liverpool in the Premier League and has started all seven matches, captaining the club and scoring against Wolverhampton Wanderers last month.
While his role as a left-back will never change, he has seen a shift in tactical positioning this season, which might seem slight but has undoubtedly prompted a big boost to his game and the performances of his peers around him.
Statistic (Sofascore):
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
Average rating
7.07
7.36
6.95
7.31
Goals
1
3
0
1
Key passes
1.7
1.9
1.6
2.7
Pass completion
84%
85%
84%
87%
Tackles
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.6
Clearances
1.8
1.8
1.3
2.6
Interceptions
0.6
0.8
0.5
1.0
Sofascore also records Robertson's ball recovery rate at an impressive 7.6 per game in the English top flight this season, though this is the first season the metric has been implemented.
However, Pervis Estupinan offers a rate of 6.5 per game; it's 3.0 per game for Ben Chilwell and 7.7 for Tottenham Hotspur's Destiny Udogie, who could get "into every team in the world already", according to footballJOE's Hunter Godson.
What's perhaps the most intriguing is that the dynamo's average heatmap is far more reserved than past seasons, indicating that he is spending the lion's share of his time in a more defensive, less marauding role that in the past.
This has allowed the creative demon to channel his creativity more accurately and incisively, while simultaneously creating a crisper, more refined game – as evidenced by his pass success rate this season.
And of course, it's no coincidence that Robertson's defensive attributes have pleasingly spiked up too, called upon to protect Alisson's goal with greater regularity and doing so to emphatic effect.
Why has Andy Robertson's role changed?
The former role has been tweaked in tandem with the squad's, and one of the chief reasons behind it is the return of Luis Diaz, who spent the lion's share of the 2022/23 campaign sidelined with an injury sustained against Arsenal.
The Colombian's high-energy presence down the left channel has lessened the burden on Robertson, who can instead look to provide openings for Diaz and his offensive peers with his superlative creative skills – indeed, the 5 foot 10 star is the highest-assisting defender in Premier League history.
This is evidenced through FBref's metrics, ranking Robertson among the top 9% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 8% for shot-creating actions, the top 6% for passes attempted and the top 10% for progressive passes per 90.
Such incredible ball-playing skills really do seem tailor-made for someone of Diaz's ilk, who already has three goals this season and has been hailed as a "livewire" by journalist Peter Hall for his electric aura on the pitch.
The various components are slotting together like a dovetail joint under Klopp's management once again, and with the formula for success seemingly unearthed again, silver-laden days may follow.
Once praised as "sensational" by BBC Sports' Raj Chohan, Robertson is living up to the tag once again, providing the batteries for his teammates and continuing to etch his name deeper into Liverpool's record books.