Patience Prevailed, Says Rodgers
- Leicester City showed their patience and fitness to grind down Watford at King Power Stadium on Wednesday night, according to Brendan Rodgers
- Jamie Vardy and James Maddison secured a 2-0 Premier League win for City
- The Foxes made it seven victories on the spin in all competitions
After a goalless first half in which Ayoze Pérez went close and City were denied a penalty, the Foxes continued to search for an opening goal and eventually found one eight minutes into the second period.
Jonny Evans won a penalty and Jamie Vardy converted from the spot, before England international James Maddison made it 2-0 with a clinical strike in injury time.
“It’s a very good victory for us,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “It was a tough game. Obviously, Watford sat in to frustrate and make it difficult for us. It was hard for us at first to break them down.
“We had a couple of chances and we had a good shout for a penalty in the first half, which we didn’t get and I thought we were unlucky then. We just had to be patient in a game like that and hopefully we make the breakthrough.
“Thankfully, the players and the crowd didn’t get frustrated. They just stayed patient and then eventually, we got the breakthrough. I thought from then, we had decent control of the game.
“It’s about staying calm and staying patient. I think once we got the first goal, then that brought them out a little bit and it gave us more space to then play. Overall, I thought it was a very, very good win.”
Despite playing a second Premier League match in the space of four days, Rodgers felt City’s fitness levels shone through from start to finish at a foggy King Power Stadium on Wednesday night.
“We’ll play better, it’s one of those games that can be a stuffy game, but I’m absolutely delighted with the stamina and again, the mentality of the players to keep going,” said Rodgers.
“We scored another late goal to close out the game, so that shows you the fitness level of the players and the concentration. Jamie [Vardy] gets another goal and like I said, should have had another penalty.
“We created other chances. Ayo (Ayoze Pérez) had a chance early on, in the first five minutes. However, we can’t fault the players tonight. To win seven games on the spin and get another clean sheet, that was terrific.”