- Brendan Rodgers speaks to LCFC TV following Leicester City’s 4-2 Premier League loss to Arsenal
- James Maddison added to William Saliba’s own goal for City at Emirates Stadium
- Rodgers believes the Foxes’ defence will improve the more games they play together
The Gunners went 2-0 up after Gabriel Jesus’ double, however City halved the deficit via a William Saliba own goal. James Maddison then replied to Granit Xhaka’s strike as the scoreboard read 3-2 to the hosts, but Gabriel Martinelli added a fourth and put the game beyond Rodgers’ side.
City have now scored four times in their opening two Premier League games, but the Northern Irishman says his outfit must be sturdier in defence if they are to apply pressure during the game’s most important stages.
“I thought it was a mixed bag, really,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “I thought that we started the game really well. That was our intention, to be aggressive in our pressing. We worked the ball well and created the first real opportunity of the game when Wesley [Fofana] got into the box.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s a great finish from Gabriel Jesus just before the drinks break. The second goal is unfortunate. Even though it’s from a corner, we had numbers in there and it’s just unfortunate that it came off Jamie [Vardy’s] head and he’s flicked it into the space.
“At 2-0, it was disappointing but we got ourselves back in the game again at 2-1. Then, likewise, we made some mistakes in the second half and it just killed our own momentum, I thought, because we played some good football and got back into it at 3-2, but then gave the ball away and conceded another goal.
“We didn’t have a chance to make them nervous. There were some really good bits of play, but we’re definitely disappointed with the goals we conceded.”
Rodgers believes Leicester’s defensive stature and tactical agility will grow as the campaign progresses, with Danny Ward making a number of stops in north London.
He continued: “We’re restricted in how we want to play, because we don’t have wingers. I think our intent was there, you could see how they pressed the game, the guys, in that opening 20-minute period. We had the ball and got into some good areas.
“Danny is disappointed with the third goal, he knows he should claim that, but he needs to play games, he needs to make some errors to get that response, but he also made some fantastic saves today. That’s all part of being a goalkeeper.”
After James Justin forced William Saliba into an own goal, Maddison applied a neat finish to Kelechi Iheanacho’s pass, as City continued to fight despite being behind in the match.
“That’s the message we said at half-time – the key for us is that we’ve got to keep believing,” he said. “That’s always very, very important. We made changes, we went to a diamond in the game and it got us back into it for 3-2.
“The players were looking aggressive, but you have to close the door behind you, otherwise you give yourselves too much to do. Our spirit was there, and we will never, ever give up.
“That’s one thing the players have shown over the past few years. They keep going to the end. Unfortunately, mistakes probably cost us today.”
A first goal for Maddison came in fine fashion, and Rodgers expects him to have a significant contribution to City’s goal tally in 2022/23.
Rodgers added: “He’s at the very highest level of the game. He sees things that, to be fair, maybe other players don’t see. It was a great finish by him, great movement by him, and he was fighting and running right the way to the very end.”