Exactly What We Needed, Says Rodgers
- Leicester City defeated a talented Atalanta outfit on Friday night, according to manager Brendan Rodgers
- The hosts won 2-1, with Ayoze Pérez and Jamie Vardy both on the scoresheet
- City begin their 2019/20 Premier League campaign against Wolves on Sunday 11 August (2pm BST kick-off)
Their final friendly fixture of the summer resulted in another triumph, as goals from Ayoze Pérez and Jamie Vardy made it five wins from six outings.
Rodgers believes Friday’s fixture was the ideal precursor for City’s first match of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign.
“It was a very good test for us,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “I said before the game that it was going to be a real finish to pre-season with a tough game. It was exactly what we needed.
“They are a very good side and they have qualified for the Champions League and finished third in their league. I said to the players beforehand that even though it’s pre-season, winners win and it’s a good habit to get into.
“Over the course of pre-season, you’ve seen that mentality and I think in the game tonight, you’ve seen that focus in the players.
“We started a little bit slowly in the first 15 minutes, but then once we adjusted and got tighter, and in particular the second half with our pressing, we got into contention a bit more and then you saw our quality.
“We obviously scored two very good goals, so it’s a pleasing end to pre-season for us.”
Rodgers is now eyeing another week of productive preparation ahead of next weekend’s clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Filbert Way.
The Northern Irishman added: “I think what’s good is that you see they’re a top side and they wanted to win. We want to be a top team and we wanted to win the game even though it was pre-season.
“I’m very pleased. There’s a number of our players that aren’t quite up to speed yet and they need to get to work over the course of this next week, but apart from that, everyone’s had a good runout.
“We’ve got a game behind closed doors tomorrow which will get a number of the other players up to speed, so I’m very pleased with how it’s gone overall and of course, we have another week to prepare.”