Rodgers Praises Leicester's 'Courage' In Leeds Triumph
- Leicester City secured a 1-0 win over Leeds United at King Power Stadium on Saturday
- Winger Harvey Barnes scored the only goal of the game for the Foxes in the second half
- Manager Brendan Rodgers praised City's courage in the win over their Yorkshire visitors
- He also commented on the performances of Kasper Schmeichel and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
The Foxes made it back-to-back wins in the Premier League - and three in all competitions - with Harvey Barnes' second-half strike ultimately enough to secure all three points in Jesse Marsch's first game in charge of Leeds. It's a result which elevates City to 10th in the table with games in hand.
"It was a really tough game for us today," the Northern Irishman told LCFC TV. "We know Leeds’ physicality and how they run and how they work, but I thought the players showed a great amount of courage. Again, we had to adjust the players, [with some] playing out of position.
"Hamza [Choudhury] came in to play at right-back, but we kept fighting, we kept working. Kasper made some good saves, we missed some chances, but then we showed a real moment of quality in the game to get the win. I thought, collectively, the players defended so well when they had to."
Adapting to a new tactical idea at Leeds, following Marsch's appointment, was a challenge for Leicester, but Rodgers was pleased with how the Foxes counteracted a new array of threats.
"We knew the principles of the game would be pretty much the same," he added. "They would want to press, they would want to run and play forward.
"I think that side of it was not a surprise. In the first half, they played more with the wingers on the inside, then normally with Marcelo [Bielsa], they would play on the outside.
"That meant we were overloaded when we were pressing the game on the inside, so we had to try and adjust that in the second half and it was better for us."
Barnes' goal means he has now scored in all four of Leicester's Premier League fixtures against the Whites since their promotion back into the top-flight in 2020. Rodgers says the Academy graduate's game continues to develop, especially the No.7's finishing ability.
"It was a brilliant finish," the 49-year-old continued. "His consistency is really developing. You can see he’s a top player with big potential if he keeps working how he has been. It was a really good goal. We broke out against their shape and then slowed the game down.
"Kels (Kelechi Iheanacho) does really well because he offers himself for the bounce-pass and then Harvey does what he does greatly. He’s really becoming a good finisher and he finished it really well."
Kasper Schmeichel, on the other hand, went third in the Club's all-time appearances charts on Saturday, overtaking Hugh Adcock and Mark Wallington, in his 461st outing for the Foxes. The Denmark captain was voted as City's Man of the Match on social media after full-time.
"He was very good and we needed him," Rodgers said. "He made three really good saves. That’s why he’s there. He’s very good at shot-stopping and blocking and we needed him."
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was another player to impress on Filbert Way - and Rodgers was full of praise for the Academy graduate.
"I thought he was unbelievable today," the former Liverpool and Celtic manager explained. "For a young player that’s come into the team, to play with that energy, he’s a throw-back for me.
"He can get box-to-box, he can play football, he’s tenacious, you can see his tackles that he puts in, and he was absolutely superb today. He’s going to get better and better. That’s the beauty of Kiernan. He’s still learning about the level and he’s a really, really important player for us."
There was positive news about James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira, who was absent for Leicester against Leeds: "Hopefully [Maddison] and Ricardo should be okay for Thursday, but we’ll see. He had a problem with his lower back, near the top of his hamstring. Hopefully he’ll be okay for then."