Premier League: Leicester’s Rodgers hails team performance after Liverpool thrashing
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers raved on the side’s collective team performance following a comeback 3-1 win over defending Premier League champions Liverpool on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have now lost three consecutive games and could find themselves down in sixth by the time Chelsea and West Ham play winnable home games on Monday night.
The Reds looked to have responded to a 4-1 thrashing handed out by City in their last outing with an impressive performance until a collapse in the final 12 minutes.
Two blunders from Alisson Becker gifted City goals last weekend and the Brazilian was at fault again, while new signing Ozan Kabak had a difficult debut at centre-back.
Liverpool’s superiority for the first three quarters of the game was rewarded by a brilliant team goal as Roberto Firmino’s flick was curled home by Mohamed Salah 23 minutes from time but unlike the relentless winning machine that picked up 196 points in the past two seasons, Liverpool’s confidence is now brittle and they self-imploded after Leicester’s fortunate equaliser from James Maddison’s free-kick.
The visitors felt Daniel Amartey should have been ruled offside for obstructing Alisson’s view, but a VAR review deemed the Ghanaian to be onside.
Alisson should have done better in any case to deal with Maddison’s shot and less than two minutes later he handed Leicester a second.
A long ball over the top should have been comfortably dealt with, but the onrushing goalkeeper got in Kabak’s way and the defender’s rushed clearance allowed Vardy to run the ball into an empty net.
“The two goals we conceded obviously had a massive impact and for human beings that’s normal, but for us we don’t accept that,” said Klopp. “We have to react differently.”
Four minutes later, Kabak’s lack of pace was exposed as Harvey Barnes raced clear to make it 3-1.
Liverpool are now clinging onto a place in the top four as they lead Chelsea and West Ham by just a point, who both have a game in hand.
A first victory for Brendan Rodgers over his former club since being sacked by Liverpool in 2015 means Leicester move six points clear of the Reds as they edge closer to a Champions League return.
“It was a real collective team performance,” said Rodgers. “You can see the improvement in the team’s mindset. Our reaction was superb.”
At the other end, Burnley pulled further clear of the bottom three with a dominant 3-0 win at Crystal Palace.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Jay Rodriguez struck inside the first 10 minutes on an afternoon to forget for the Eagles.
Matt Lowton then added a stunning third just after half-time as the right-back fired home his first goal since 2016 on the volley.
Sean Dyche’s men moved up to 15th with a 10-point gap now between Newcastle just outside the relegation zone and Fulham in 18th.
Gundogan inspires City against Spurs
Manchester City powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday as Ilkay Gundogan’s double inspired a 3-0 win over Tottenham.
Pep Guardiola’s side stretched their English top-flight record run to 16 successive victories in all competitions.
They are unbeaten in their last 23 matches, since their last meeting with Spurs, and look odds-on to win the title for the third time in the last four seasons.
Manchester United can close the gap to five points if they beat lowly West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, but City will still hold a game in hand to strengthen their grip on top spot.
Tottenham were no match for the red-hot leaders on a freezing evening at the Etihad Stadium.
The 25th clash between old rivals Guardiola and Jose Mourinho was a mismatch from the moment Rodrigo put City ahead from the penalty spot.
Gundogan has been the main man during City’s winning streak and he finished off Tottenham with two ruthless strikes.
Spurs have now lost five of their previous six matches in all competitions.
Amid Mourinho’s awkward rifts with Gareth Bale and Dele Alli, there is a growing feeling Tottenham’s season is spiralling out of control.
They are languishing in ninth place, four points adrift of the top four.
“A fresh team against a very tired team, but we hit the post and going 1-0 up could give us the fuel you need,” Mourinho said after Harry Kane’s early free-kick came back off the woodwork. “A team that is not united would give up and would be punished but I saw guys giving everything.”
City went ahead in the 23rd minute after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg tripped Gundogan with a trailing leg.
After Gundogan made it three penalty misses for City this season in their thrashing of Liverpool last weekend, Guardiola had hinted goalkeeper Ederson might take their next one.
City’s keeper did start moving towards the Tottenham area for a moment after the challenge on Gundogan, but he was sent back and instead Rodrigo stepped up and saw Hugo Lloris fail to keep out his spot-kick.
“I admire and love the courage to take it but the taker was not good. We were lucky,” said Guardiola of the surprise choice of penalty taker.
Gundogan struck five minutes after half-time as his close-range finish eluded Lloris’s weak attempted save.
The in-form German midfielder wasn’t finished yet and in the 66th minute he sprinted onto Ederson’s long kick, gave Davinson Sanchez a subtle nudge and swivelled away from the stumbling defender before firing past Lloris.
However, after scoring his 11th goal in his last 12 league games, Gundogan limped off with a concerning looking groin injury for Guardiola.
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