Liverpool full-back Andrew Robertson has suggested that Sergio Ramos was "clever" in the way he took Mohamed Salah to ground for the foul which caused the winger to be subbed off in the first half of Saturday's Champions League final.
The Real Madrid skipper appeared to hook the arm of Salah in order to drag him down, with Liverpool's 44-goal talisman falling awkwardly and dislocating his shoulder in the process.
Robertson admitted that losing Salah after just half an hour affected his side, but believes that they are "clutching at straws" if they try to blame their eventual 3-1 defeat on the incident.
When asked whether he felt there was any malice in Ramos's challenge, Robertson told reporters: "I don't know. I was trying to get the ball off Mo. I think it is just how he has landed but Ramos is quite clever, isn't he? We are clutching at straws if we are saying that. It is just the way he has landed on it. It's unfortunate. Hopefully he'll come back bigger and stronger.
"I think it could have been Mo, it could have been any of us. It just disrupted our rhythm a wee bit. Everyone looks because it is Mo Salah. He has done unbelievable this season and for it to end that way for him was devastating. The last 10 minutes of the first half, we sat back and they created a couple of chances.
"We got into half time, 0-0 and that was fine. I thought we started well in the second half but then the mistake happened. We bounced back so quickly, which was credit for all the lads. Then the second goal? What can you say about that? Nobody is stopping that. Fair play to him. We have just fallen short."
Salah is now in a race against time to be fit for this summer's World Cup, which gets underway in Russia on June 14.
Barney Corkhill
