Rodgers Disappointed After Spurs Defeat
- Leicester City are beaten 6-2 by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League
- Youri Tielemans and James Maddison scored at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Brendan Rodgers gave his view to LCFC TV in his post-match interview
- The manager felt they gave away sloppy goals in the second half
Youri Tielemans and James Maddison were on target for the Foxes in the opening 45 minutes, while Spurs’ Harry Kane and Eric Dier netted to leave the scores level at the break and the game finely poised.
However, four second-half goals from Antonio Conte’s side, including a 13-minute hat-trick from substitute Son Heung-min, saw the hosts take all three points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I’m really disappointed for the players, because I thought they gave so much to the game,” Rodgers told LCFC TV after full-time. “I thought the first half, we were the much better team. They clearly have quality, but our game was very good.
“In the second half, we gave away a sloppy goal, like the two in the first half, and we gave away soft goals. Through to 73 minutes, we were well in the game, [Hugo] Lloris makes a great save for it to go 3-3.
“But then we give the ball away again and those sort of individual errors are hurting us a bit, and then they break away and score. At 4-2, it’s then really tough. They can then keep the ball and manage the game.
“We’re trying to get something back in the game, and then it opens us up in the last 10 to 15 minutes for the last two goals. So, they were soft goals, but I asked the players to be brave, I asked them to show courage, I asked them to take the ball.
“They did all those things, they pressed the game really well, won it back so many times and created opportunities, but we’ve conceded. We’ve given them a big hand and conceded four goals tonight that we shouldn’t have done.”
There were positives to take from the first half performance, when City scored twice, following some fluid attacking play from the visitors’ forward line. Still remaining without a win in the Premier League this season, it is consistency of results and points on the board that the team require.
The Northern Irishman continued: “That’s everything the team has been for a good part of my first few years. Because of changes and injuries over the last I would say 12 months or so, we haven’t been near to that level – the fluency… because we’ve had to make so many changes.
“But that’s when we’re at our best, when we commit to the game and go and play with that conviction, you see the chances we created, and like I said, their goalkeeper has made some great saves.
“It’s been a really, really challenging start. Four of our seven games have been away at Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea and we played Manchester United at home. It’s been a tough start for us on the back of the summer.
“Things go against you, but we can only look at ourselves. We’ve an international break now, we’ve got to go away and regroup, get back, and then there’s a run of games between now and the World Cup that gives the team a chance to climb.”
Following the international break, Nottingham Forest await at King Power Stadium on Monday 3 October (8pm BST kick-off), a game that will require little motivation, Rodgers believes.
The 49-year-old added: “It’ll be very easy, those types of games, you don’t need to say too much, but we need to go away, reflect on it, talk about it next week and get some great work in.
“There’s a long period now before that game, that game is on the Monday night and there’s absolutely no doubt playing to the level that we did most of the night tonight and not give away the soft goals, then we have a great chance of getting the first result.
“Like I said, if we can cut out the goals, the soft goals, and play to the commitment and the level that we did for large parts of the game, then the team will be fine.”