Liverpool fans are completely bemused by the Man of the Match win over RB Leipzig

With victory over RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening, Liverpool made it three wins out of three at the start of their Champions League campaign.

Darwin Nunez scored the only goal of the game for the Reds, but one of his teammates was a surprise choice for the Player of the Match award.

Arne Slot’s men had already beaten AC Milan and Bologna in the new league phase and had to get all three points in Germany. Nunez fired home a Mohamed Salah header before goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher made a series of fine saves to keep the home side at bay.

But according to UEFA, it was left-back Kostas Tsimikas who deserved recognition for his performance. The Greece international was given a rare start by Slot, coming on as a substitute for Robertson. He was involved in the opening goal when his cross hit Salah’s head before Nunez finished.

Although Tsimikas did nothing wrong, he was hardly the standout player and was replaced by Robertson in the final 15 minutes as Liverpool saw the game out. Unsurprisingly, the choice confused fans.

One fan asked: “Wait, did they get the wrong player?” Another fan added: “Kelleher is getting robbed!” These sentiments were echoed by another Liverpool fan who was watching the game and wrote on social media: ” I can’t think of anything he did in this game that would be worthy of a MOTM award.”

The prize is awarded by UEFA’s technical observer panel, which explains the decision. A post on UEFA’s website said: “He showed great positional awareness and was involved in key scoring opportunities and on the cross to set up the winning goal.”

“The full-back was always available in the build-up game, made clever tactical moves and constantly worked hard.”

Robertson will be hoping to win his place back when Liverpool take on Arsenal in a huge clash at the top of the Premier League on Sunday. Looking ahead to the game, Slot said: “We know how tough the opponent Arsenal is, especially in their own stadium.”

“We played against them in pre-season when both teams didn’t have their entire squad. Mikel has done a great job over the last few years. We know that like against Chelsea and today we have to be at the top of our game to get a result.