- Gerry Taggart, Matt Elliott and Rob Tanner reflect on Leicester City’s defeat by Liverpool
- The trio were speaking on LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live show
- The Foxes lost 4-0 on Filbert Way to the Premier League leaders on Thursday
A brace from Roberto Firmino, James Milner’s penalty and a well-struck drive from Trent Alexander-Arnold earned the Reds all three points as City suffered only their fourth reverse of the 2019/20 campaign.
Discussing the clash as part of LCFC Radio’s matchday output, Taggart, Elliott and Tanner each spoke of City’s continued development, Liverpool’s quality and how the Foxes have progressed under Brendan Rodgers.
Applause for Liverpool
Matt Elliott said: “I have to say, sometimes, the quality of the opposition needs applauding. We knew Liverpool were a fine side, but when you see them in the flesh, in that sort of imperious form, you just have to tip your hat to them. Leicester haven’t done a lot wrong. People will look at it and say they could have been more composed and more compact defensively, and better going forward, but you have to consider who they were up against.”
Relentless Reds
Gerry Taggart said: “The penalty came at a really bad time for Leicester. They just got themselves back into the game. You thought the momentum could finally swing, even if it was only for five or 10 minutes, and the crowd were behind the players. Once the penalty went in, Liverpool were relentless.”
City’s opportunities
Rob Tanner said: “They had the crowd going and they had a few opportunities around the box and they had Liverpool defending for the first time in the game. The penalty happened and it was one-way traffic from there on in.”
A young, improving team
Gerry Taggart said: “When you look back at how long Jürgen Klopp has been in the job, yes, he’s reached back-to-back Champions League Finals, but he’s shifted people out and brought people in. This is a young, improving Leicester team and sometimes that gets overlooked. It needs time to develop. It was the game of the festive season, and Leicester City were right in the middle of it.”
A different stage of development
Matt Elliott said: “Even sides as good as Liverpool and Man City don’t perform as well as they have done in the last couple of games week in, week out. They are at a different level and Brendan Rodgers has said that publicly. He’s talked about Leicester being at a different stage of development.”
Progression under Rodgers
Rob Tanner said: “We’ve got to realise how far this team has come in 10 months under Brendan Rodgers. To be that side that went on that fantastic winning streak, the last couple of games against Manchester City and Liverpool have just shown how much work is still to be done. Leicester are at the start of their journey.”