Brendan Rodgers knows his Liverpool team better than anyone else.
Rodgers defended his decision to field a nominally weakened starting lineup in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. The Liverpool manager gave several squad players a chance to perform at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and was happy with their display.
“I know there has been a bit of criticism for the selection but I think it is a disservice to the team that played,” Rodgers said Thursday, according to FIFA.com. “I don’t look so much into it because any criticism that comes is part of what you take as a manager, but I didn’t think it was fair to call Kolo Toure, Lucas Leiva or Adam Lallana a reserve player. Those boys put in a great performance and they deserved more praise as opposed to the criticism which came.”
Rodgers said players’ form and injuries played a part in his selection gamble. He added that Steven Gerrard had suffered a minor hamstring problem in the days before the game, which factored into his decision to leave the Liverpool captain out of the starting lineup.
“Managers up and down the country are dealing in the reality of being a manager; it is not fantasy football, it is not on sentiment or on a computer, when we are picking teams we are dealing with the reality of players and their physical condition and tactics going into the game,” Rodgers said. “It was probably hard for you (media) guys, you are not privy to some of the information I have so you probably wouldn’t have known Steven had a scan on his hamstring on the Monday before we traveled out.”
Liverpool hosts Chelsea on Saturday in a crunch Premier League game. Observers are keen to see whether Rodgers persists with the experimental lineup or reverts to his regular starters against the unbeaten Premier League leader.
Liverpool-Real Madrid verdict: Rodgers gambles in loss >>
Thumbnail photo by Andres Kudacki/The Associated Press
