Rodgers: We Lost To A Top Team
- Brendan Rodgers speaks to LCFC TV after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City
- The Foxes manager says his side lost to the better team on the day
- Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus were on target in the second half
The Foxes lost 2-0 to Pep Guardiola’s side at King Power Stadium, suffering their first defeat in five games across all competitions.
After a goalless first half during which Fernandinho and Jamie Vardy had efforts ruled out for offside, strikes from Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus won it for Man City after the interval.
“The best team won the game,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “We were competitive in the first half and defensively didn’t concede so much. We weren’t so good with the ball. We just didn’t quite have that efficiency and speed in our game, but still kept the score at 0-0.
“It looked like we maybe scored towards the end of the first half with a good move, but it was just offside. We’re disappointed with the two goals that we conceded.
“The first one, we could have been better in. We opened up the space and just lost our organisation a little bit, then it opened up the space centrally.
“Then, the second one was from a throw-in, which disappoints us, because we spoke about that, that space. They try to throw it from mid-pitch into the middle of your organisation and they did that. We weren’t alert to that.
“We had some chances in the game, but we can have no complaints. We’re disappointed with the result, but we’ll take 24 hours, and we’ll go again.”
Rodgers felt Leicester City did not reach the same levels as those they displayed in their last outing, given seven of the players that started against Man City played for their nations over the international break.
“We weren’t as efficient with the ball, but also, we’re coming off some of the players [having done] a lot of travel and a lot of games internationally,” he said.
“I felt there was just that little bit of… if you compare that to Manchester United, our level wasn’t quite at the same level. We just have to accept that. It’s disappointing, but we lost to a top team.”
Reflecting on James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira’s return to the side, Rodgers added: “It’s great to have those two players back. This time last year, we lost players, but getting them back for this game was very good.”