Rodgers: An Excellent Performance
- Leicester City reached the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup for the first time since 1982 on Sunday
- The Foxes defeated Manchester United 3-1 at King Power Stadium in the last-eight
- Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted by the nature of City's performance against the Red Devils
- The Northern Irishman hopes to enjoy another century of games at the Club after his 100th fixture as manager
Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring for the Foxes at King Power Stadium, but the home side were pegged back before the break as Mason Greenwood finished well from Paul Pogba's cross.
City, though, emerged in the second half intent on qualifying for the last-four stage for the first time since 1982, as Youri Tielemans broke through the midfield quagmire to net Leicester's second. With 12 minutes to play, Iheanacho sealed the victory with a header from close range.
Speaking afterwards, Rodgers paid tribute to the application of his players, highlighting their efforts in the press against Ole Gunnar Solskjær's 20-time English champions on Filbert Way.
"Like any top team, you want to build the game at times," the Northern Irishman said. "We then set the trap, nicked it and scored the first goal. The second goal, the goal that we conceded, we could have been better in. We spoke about that at half-time.
"But I thought, overall in the first half, we were excellent. We didn’t stop the cross, so we sorted that out at half-time, but in the second half, we showed all elements of what you need to do to win a top game. It was a big win for us."
Iheanacho, meanwhile, has now scored seven goals in his last four outings in all competitions for Leicester and Rodgers believes the Nigeria international is playing the best football of his career.
"I would think so," he added. "He’s full of confidence. Any player, when you play with confidence, you play to a high level. It was great composure for the first goal, and the second, he’s there in the right spot and gets the finish."
On Tielemans' effort, Rodgers continued: "It was a really good team goal. We worked it down one side, we exploited the side on the other side of the pitch and then he steps forward and scores really, really well. I’m delighted for him and he’s playing at a really high level."
City will face Southampton in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium on the weekend of 17/18 April and Rodgers is keen to continue the Club's journey in the competition.
"I’d rather win and talk about it then," the 48-year-old said. "It’s another step for us. I said to the players before the game: ‘You’re three games from making history’. Now we’re down to two. There’s a number of games in between, a lot of hard work, but this is a great moment for us. Now we’ve got a semi-final to look forward to."
Speaking after his 100th game as Leicester's manager, on the other hand, the progress which has been made during his two years on Filbert Way is clear for all to see.
"Hopefully, I can be good enough to have another 100 games, that would be nice," he explained. "I thought it was a very good team performance.
"We were playing against a top team who have got outstanding players and you only need to see Manchester United’s record to know how good they are, but I thought overall, we were excellent in the game. We defended well, pressed the game well and then, when we had the ball, we were excellent."