Rodgers: We Showed So Much Quality
- Leicester City claimed a 4-1 success over Tottenham Hotspur at King Power Stadium
- The Foxes have won back-to-back Premier League games following Saturday’s victory
- City manager Brendan Rodgers gave his verdict to LCFC TV
- He felt it was a very pleasing overall team performance
The Foxes triumphed 4-1 at King Power Stadium, courtesy of Papy Mendy’s maiden City goal and further strikes from James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho and Harvey Barnes. Spurs had earlier taken the lead through Rodrigo Bentancur.
But it was Leicester who emphatically claimed all three Premier League points on Filbert Way, backing up last weekend’s victory at Villa Park. City move up to 13th in the table as a result.
“The guys were absolutely outstanding,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “It was brave to press a team who have so much quality and so much threat. Some of our football was outstanding today. We scored four very good goals.
“Papy Mendy scoring for the first time… it was a great corner actually. Tim (Timothy Castagne) was unlucky, he’s flicked it on and they’ve defended it at the back post. It’s come out and it’s a wonderful strike. He’s got quality, Papy. But obviously he prefers to pass rather than shoot. It’s a wonderful finish.
“It was unfortunate for us [to go behind], but our response has been excellent and we stayed calm in the game. Especially once we got the first goal, we really pushed on from there. It was a great afternoon for all the supporters and a very good performance.”
Two goals in as many first-half minutes turned the game on its head following the visitors’ early opener and City’s manager was full of praise for the way his side approached the game, especially after going behind.
The 50-year-old explained: “It came from the press and the players showing that courage to step in and be aggressive and win the first balls. Then once on the regain, making the right passes.
“Wout [Faes] steps in really well, wins the first ball and goes to Kel and then he squares it for Madders, and he finishes it. Once we won it back again, big Harry [Souttar] makes a great pass for Kel to step in and finish.
“We had other chances in the game, we're obviously unfortunate with Barnesy’s goal to be disallowed for offside, but he got what he deserved as well. He had a specific role tactically in the game today and I thought he was outstanding.
“The fourth goal had lots of passes and we worked the shape, creating the space to get his goal. We controlled it. When you’re 3-1 up, you’ve got to still play and work the space and that was the only criticism. But the guys that came into the game made a good impact for us.
“We defended well. The whole backline in particular, because they were up against three world-class players I believe, in Son [Heung-min], [Harry] Kane and [Dejan] Kulusevski, who is a big talent as well. I thought they managed it very well, with good concentration.
“If we play to that level, and play that football, with that intensity, then we can match anyone. Overall, it was an outstanding team performance.”
The influential Maddison captained the side in the absence of Jonny Evans and Youri Tielemans, who picked up a calf injury ahead of the game, while there was a welcome return for Foxes favourite Ricardo Pereira following a long-term Achilles injury that has kept him out since pre-season.
“He is a real leader,” the Northern Irishman said on City’s No.10. “He’s developed and grown on and off the pitch in the time I’ve been here and he was worthy of taking the team out and being captain. You see him in the game, organising and he really understands football. He’s an inspiration for his team and I thought it was a fantastic performance.”
You sense the crowd when he (Ricardo Pereira) came on. For him to get back, he’s worked so hard. To have a player of that quality available for us, is fantastic. It just keeps pushing us, everyone has got to perform, with players coming back, adding competition to the squad.
“We’ve still got a bit to go but winning today is a big reward for us.”