A Very Hard-Fought Win, Says Rodgers
- Leicester City registered a 2-0 triumph over Southampton at King Power Stadium on Saturday
- The Foxes moved up to second in the Premier League table after their 11th win of the 2020/21 season
- Manager Brendan Rodgers was pleased with how his side's performance improved as the match progressed
- The endeavour on show before City's opener, netted by James Maddison, also pleased the Northern Irishman
James Maddison's 37th-minute opener was added to by a 10th goal of 2020/21 for Harvey Barnes in injury time as the Foxes moved up to second in the Premier League standings.
While Rodgers was initially disappointed with City's start to the clash on Filbert Way, the Northern Irishman was enthused by the way his side improved as the game went on against the Saints.
"It was a very hard-fought win," Rodgers told LCFC TV during his post-match interview. "I thought we deserved to win, but we started the game too slow.
"We were a bit passive in that first 20/25 minutes against a team that are aggressive and play lots of forward passes.
"We didn’t get onto the second balls quick enough, we weren’t pressing well enough. The final 15/20 minutes of the first half, we were then better.
"We sustained the attacks better, we got onto the second balls much better. We then, in the second half, looked a much better team."
Maddison's opener, a fearsome drive from a tight angle, put Leicester on course for their 11th league win of the season and Rodgers was particularly pleased with the build-up play.
"It was a great finish by James, but it just came from a really good period of play for about five or 10 minutes, where we were up at their box [and] counter pressing much better," he added.
"Youri [Tielemans] plays a fantastic pass and James is really good at that, around the 18-yard box, he rolls defenders and I thought it was a really, really good finish from such a tight angle."
After overcoming an in-form Saints side, Rodgers highlighted that City could have scored more goals on the night had they been more clinical in the final third.
"Tonight was always going to be a tough game for us," the 47-year-old continued. "Everyone has seen Southampton and how tough they are to play against, it can be very hard.
"They’ve got great quality and they can score goals, but I thought we should have had more than two if we’d been a little bit more clinical and been a little bit more greedy, we could have finished better."