Rodgers: Resilience, Courage & Unity
- Leicester City drew 1-1 at Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday
- Manager Brendan Rodgers was pleased with the spirit on show from the Foxes
- Harvey Barnes equalised Raphinha's opener inside 60 seconds at Elland Road
- Rodgers also provides an insight into the visitors' tactical plan for the encounter
In the final fixture before the November international break, City's 18th competitive outing of the season took them to Yorkshire, but they fell behind in the first half through Raphinha's free-kick. Less than 60 seconds later, though, the Foxes were on level terms after a stunner from Harvey Barnes.
While frustrated not to return to Leicester with all three points, Rodgers was especially pleased with the application of his players, coming up against a Leeds outfit renowned for their work ethic and endless running. Marcelo Biesla's men had a free week ahead of the clash, while City were in European action.
"Some games you’re involved in are breathless and that was definitely one of them," the Foxes manager told LCFC TV. "It was fast-paced.
"I’m really proud of the team because, after the number of games we’ve had, coming to play against Leeds, who have had all week to prepare, we know how physical they are anyway and the amount of running they do… for us, we had to match that. The players did that.
"The resilience, courage and unity they showed, I was really proud. My only disappointment was we got into some really good areas in the game just fell with our final pass, our final touch. We maybe weren’t clinical enough. That was the only gripe I had in the game, but overall, it was a great atmosphere.
"I think the supporters can be really proud of the team because we had to dig in, get blocks… we had to fight. We saw all of that in the team."
Leicester set up in a 4-3-3 system on Sunday, with Barnes and Ademola Lookman in wide areas. Rodgers offered an insight into his thinking behind this approach and was pleased to see it work out for the majority of the clash at Elland Road.
"It's a man-marker’s game," he added. "You’ve got most of the [Leeds] outfield players who mark man-to-man. The only one spare in your game, really, is your centre-half. When you pass it and you play in midfield, they’re tight, they’re organised, and it’s all in the duel.
"I thought we had good spells in the game where we played through that and got into some really good areas. We just didn’t quite have that final pass. We wanted to play 4-3-3, which is my preferred system… either that or 4-2-3-1.
"We played with two wingers because the two guys are good with the ball at their feet and when they spin out, they can then exploit the space with their dribbling ability. That was the idea for that."
City's bouncebackability enthused Rodgers again after hitting back immediately after going behind, while the former Liverpool and Celtic manager also reserved praise for Leicester's goalscorer.
"It was brilliant," he continued. "We don’t want to make a habit of it, but I think it shows you the spirit’s never broken in the team. It’s not a great goal for us to concede, a bit soft, but we responded really well. Right from the kick-off, Barnesy’s touch and ability to come in... and what a finish.
"I’m delighted for him. When you play a team with this sort of man-to-man system, you need people who are good in the duels and the one-vs.-ones. That was the idea for him and Ade coming in. That moment, when he was in that one vs. one situation, he could cut inside and then finished it absolutely brilliantly.
"He worked really hard. He got a nasty knock on his knee, so we had to take him off, but overall I’m really please for him."
Youri Tielemans, on the other hand, left the field late on, and asked for an update on the Belgian's fitness, Rodgers said: "We’ll just have to see – his calf was sore, so it’s a little bit of a worry, but we’ll just have to see what that looks like with a scan."