Rodgers: Three Outstanding Goals
- Leicester City produced an ‘excellent’ first-half performance to beat Brighton & Hove Albion, says manager Brendan Rodgers
- James Maddison’s brace and a strike from Jamie Vardy claimed a 3-0 Premier League win
- City move up to third in the table after 12 outings in 2020/21
A clinical first-half display saw the Foxes head into the break with a three-goal advantage, ultimately sealing all three points with 45 minutes still to play.
England international James Maddison’s opener was added to by Jamie Vardy’s 10th Premier League goal of 2020/21, before Maddison found the top corner with a beautiful effort before the break.
Rodgers was thrilled with the goals his side scored on Filbert Way, and also underlined the tactical battle that took place with the Seagulls.
“It was always going to be a difficult game,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “We've seen Brighton all season and they've been unfortunate not to get some results. But I thought, in particular first half, we were excellent.
“I really enjoyed the game from a tactical perspective, because we started off in a shape and Brighton surprised us a little bit with how they played. We then had to adjust our shape and then we changed it again at half-time.
“So, I enjoyed that aspect of the game, but [we scored] three outstanding goals, different types of goals, but of great quality and then in the second half we didn't need to chase it. We could control the game and play a little bit more on the counter.”
Rodgers felt his side’s change in stratagem provided vital to the victory, and their switch to a 4-3-3 formation in the second period, when they were already three goals to the good, helped nullify the Brighton attack.
He added: “They were playing a shape with a back four and the wingers narrow, and because of how we thought they were going to play, it meant that when we pressed, it was leaving too much space in behind our midfield line.
“It meant that they could then get on the ball and control it that little bit better. So, after that opening period, 20/25 minutes, we changed the shape to 4-2-3-1 and then that allowed us to be more stable in our structure, our pressing and with the ball.
“Then, at half-time, we went to 4-3-3 and that allowed us to control the game well.”