- Leicester City left Goodison Park with a 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday evening
- Goalscorers Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes illuminated the Bonfire Night fixture
- Manager Brendan Rodgers was overjoyed with the control which City had over the match
- He also praises Tielemans, who scored another brilliant long-range stunner for the Foxes
A Youri Tielemans rocket got the Foxes started on Merseyside before Harvey Barnes capped a sparkling display to double City's advantage late on. It's a success which elevates Leicester up to 13th in the Premier League as Rodgers' men continue to repair the damage done earlier in the season.
They have now won four league games in seven, keeping five clean sheets, after originally conceding 22 goals in seven preceding, winless matches. In Liverpool, City delivered a swaggering, defensively secure performance – a reminder of Leicester's true quality and their returning confidence.
"I said before to the players, when you come to Goodison, to get a result, you have to be brave defensively and you have to be brave with the ball," Rodgers told LCFC TV at full-time after securing his first Premier League win at Goodison Park as a manager.
"The [Leicester] supporters want to come to a ground like this, where they know it’s a tough place to come, and they want to have pride in their team – playing and defending with that quality and mentality and hopefully they’ll go back down the road tonight really proud of watching the team.
"I thought we were outstanding tonight from the first whistle. We were really aggressive, we pressed the game well, and I thought, with and without the ball, we were very good. We were resilient in our defending. We actually didn’t give away too many clear-cut opportunities.
"We had one at the beginning where we started really well and then [Boubakary Soumaré] gave the ball away (for Alex Iwobi to miss the target), but apart from that, we didn’t give too much away. Defensively, I was really, really pleased with our pressing and how we coordinated the pressure.
"Then, with the ball, to come to Goodison and control the game like that for large spells, it takes a lot of courage and bravery from the players in a really hostile environment. I thought they were magnificent in dealing with that."
The FA Cup-winning manager was particularly pleased with City's defensive work in Liverpool, leading to another shutout for his side. Although Leicester had to work hard to protect their own box, Rodgers thinks his side could have scored more goals too.
"Sometimes we were a bit unlucky," Rodgers added. "Ki (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall) slipped sometimes and we arrived in the box and we didn’t make the right pass, but we were there, which is important. We created and we were aggressive. It was a pleasing performance.
"I think we controlled that side of it well. They had a bit more possession, which you’d expect. The home team want to come out, but I thought we were tight. They’re a very big and physical team, but we defended the corners well.
"[Danny Ward] came through, made a lot of important contacts for us, and then with the ball, we were fast, we were aggressive, and we looked a real threat. We worked together, we moved well together around the pitch, and then we also had other opportunities to score.
"In the first half, we controlled the game well with the ball, scored the goal, and then, in the second half, we were able to control the game without it, but we still looked a real threat."
Tielemans is currently in contention to win both Leicester City's and the Premier League's Goal of the Month for October for a sensational hit at Wolves. Teeing himself up on the edge of the box, before half-volleying it in from range at Everton, he's certain to be nominated for both in November, too.
The Belgium international is in superb form and Rodgers hopes that continues with a Carabao Cup tie against Newport County, at King Power Stadium, and a visit to London Stadium to tackle West Ham United, in the Premier League, still to come before the FIFA World Cup break.
"Youri’s goal was absolutely outstanding," the City managed explained. "It was amazing. He must have it in his contract: we only scored worldies! He’s in that run of form where he’s shooting, his confidence is high, and he looks like he’s going to get goals. He’s a brilliant player and what a finish.
"It’s really nice to see (the confidence of all the players). We were struggling at the beginning of the season, there’s no doubt, but it’s just work on the training field [to] keep the confidence of the players high, to have the belief in what we’re doing, and then eventually we can get back to our level again.
"To come here [and win], it was a real good demonstration of the level the players are at at the moment."
To support the Foxes for the final time at King Power Stadium ahead of the winter break, purchase your Newport County tickets here.