Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s a decision you make as a defender in the game. There is no real trouble, the ball is coming into Danny’s hands but as a defender you make those decisions. Since he has been with us, in the short time, he has been brilliant. He normally makes the right decisions. It was just freakish, the goal, and he has been unfortunate with the second one. It is obviously disappointing for him, more with the first one, but he is a really strong character. He has been very good for us. He has been at the World Cup and didn’t play a minute so it’s going take him a few games to get his rhythm back. I’ve got no doubt about him. He has shown the level he can get to, it was just unfortunate for him. But I thought he responded great in the second half and he will go again.”
Ward called for the ball before Faes flicked it over him, but Rodgers insisted there are not miscommunication issues at the back for City.
Brendan Rodgers added: “It is just decision-making. As a defender, if you have any doubt you want to get the contact. If Wout doesn’t slice it and he hit it flush, we wouldn’t even be talking about it.”
Beyond those two moments, Rodgers was pleased with how his side performed. He felt that their plan had worked, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scoring early, and believed that with James Maddison available, they may have grabbed an equaliser in the second period.
Brendan Rodgers said: “The game worked out perfectly with how we wanted to start the game. We scored a really good goal and looked really dynamic and dangerous, but the seven minutes you can’t plan for. It was difficult to take. The second half, we kept pushing and got into some really good areas, but my only criticism is the final pass. I’ve said it before, it’s that quality in the final third, especially with James (Maddison) not playing. The players gave everything. They started how we wanted to, they finished strong. We had to be resilient at times against some top players. It’s just disappointing for them that we didn’t get something from the game.”
