Rodgers: Mentality Shown In Man City Loss
- Leicester City were beaten 6-3 by Manchester City in the Premier League on Boxing Day
- Brendan Rodgers was frustrated by the goals conceded but pleased with a spirited second half
- James Maddison, Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho pulled goals back for the Foxes
- Rodgers felt the final scoreline was not a true reflection of the game but admitted City gave themselves too much to do
Sunday’s encounter looked to be a one-sided affair at the break, with the Citizens four goals to the good courtesy of strikes from Kevin De Bruyne and İlkay Gündoğan, as well as penalties from Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling.
However, the Foxes hit back in the second half via James Maddison, Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho, who all netted within 10 minutes of each other, stunning Pep Guardiola’s side and moving Leicester right back into the game.
The hosts converted twice more late on, though, with Aymeric Laporte’s header and Sterling’s second goal proving to be the difference, leaving Rodgers with mixed emotions after full-time.
“It was a difficult start for us, coming away to the Etihad and being 4-0 down," he told LCFC TV in his post-match assessment of proceedings in Manchester. “A soft penalty gets us to 2-0 down, but either way, we are down. I thought at half-time the actual scoreline didn’t reflect the game as such.
“The first penalty was disappointing; we should never have conceded that. It’s a poor decision. He asked the referee to come and have a look at that being a foul... he falls over.
“They started bright, which you would expect, they had nine shots, we had eight. We arrived in good positions and their ‘keeper has made some really good saves. But at 4-0 down we had a huge mountain to climb and I said to the players: ‘We need to go out [in the] second half and see if we can win the half and see if that brings us closer to them'.
Maddison, Lookman & Iheanacho On Target In Man City Loss
Watch all nine goals from Leicester City's Premier League meeting with Manchester City at Etihad Stadium.
“The key was that they had to go as individuals and as a team to show the mentality, because that’s so important at 4-0 down. It would have been so easy a choice for them to unravel mentally and physically and end up being eight or nine, which can sometimes happen.
“But they didn’t, they got the game to 4-3 and at 5-3 we still had two big chances as well, so offensively, we’ve been really good in the game, looked very bright and we’ve come to Liverpool in midweek and here and scored three goals. But unfortunately, we couldn’t keep them out. Two penalties, two set pieces is very disappointing.”