Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has hailed his team's 'fight and character' after a much-changed starting XI beat BSC Young Boys 5-3 in the Europa League. Jonjo Shelvey came off the bench to steal the headlines but Rodgers reserved special praise for debuting youngster Andre Wisdom and Suso.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Rodgers said it was 'really special' to score five goals, and praised the 'magnificent' effort of the players. He enthused:
"The players were magnificent, and the biggest thing we showed alongside our quality was our character.
"I thought all the young players were fantastic: Andre [Wisdom] was quick, strong and good in opponent's box.
"Suso was outstanding - He's the type of player I like, and once he adds goals to his game he'll be brilliant".
Oussama Assaidi made his debut for Liverpool, and made some impressive runs during his 67 minute stint. After the game, he seemed merely satisfied with his contribution:
"It was my first game in [more than] one month and it was very hard, but it was okay".
Jonjo Shelvey scored two good goals, but he was keen to highlight the overall contribution of the team:
"It's not just about me - it's about the team and we won 5-3. The boss has installed a lot of character in us. We've shown a lot of fight and belief so far this season to come back from goals [conceded], against Man City and again tonight".
Jamie Carragher captained the team, and he was pleased with performance of his younger team-mates:
"I'm really pleased for the young players who came in. I think they acquitted themselves really well. It was a tough game out there at times. We're disappointed at conceding those goals and we'll look at it, but great credit to the young players - they did really well."
Jaimie Kanwar
Speaking to reporters after the game, Rodgers said it was 'really special' to score five goals, and praised the 'magnificent' effort of the players. He enthused:
"The players were magnificent, and the biggest thing we showed alongside our quality was our character.
"I thought all the young players were fantastic: Andre [Wisdom] was quick, strong and good in opponent's box.
"Suso was outstanding - He's the type of player I like, and once he adds goals to his game he'll be brilliant".
Oussama Assaidi made his debut for Liverpool, and made some impressive runs during his 67 minute stint. After the game, he seemed merely satisfied with his contribution:
"It was my first game in [more than] one month and it was very hard, but it was okay".
Jonjo Shelvey scored two good goals, but he was keen to highlight the overall contribution of the team:
"It's not just about me - it's about the team and we won 5-3. The boss has installed a lot of character in us. We've shown a lot of fight and belief so far this season to come back from goals [conceded], against Man City and again tonight".
Jamie Carragher captained the team, and he was pleased with performance of his younger team-mates:
"I'm really pleased for the young players who came in. I think they acquitted themselves really well. It was a tough game out there at times. We're disappointed at conceding those goals and we'll look at it, but great credit to the young players - they did really well."
Jaimie Kanwar
The future is red,we got great talent coming through.
ReplyDeleteI think the commentator was over praising Henderson who was good and poor in equal measure. Pacheco looked lost and didn't work hard enough off the ball. Shelvey was excellent when he came on.
ReplyDeleteAnd joe cole is not only down the pecking order....he's never getting back on it
ReplyDeleteAgree most of the young lads showed real promise and Shelvey looked superb but I'm really concerned about number of defensive errors - Enrique was dire.
ReplyDeletethis liverpool side can beat our 1st team with some improvement in defence..
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see the recognition for Wisdom - he's been playing out of position since Rodgers arrived, but has put his head down and appears to be playing his way into first team contention.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic, but not really surprising to me, that our most disappointing players on the night were the experienced, older heads - most notably Enrique & Downing and Carragher & Jones to a lesser extent (+ the out of position Pacheco if I'm being harsh).
Enrique and Downing apart we played very good football, Wisdom, Suso, Assaidi looked very good. The youngsters loved it and im looking forward to seeing Yesil and Teixeira too, all in all it was very promising and Shelvey was superb when he came on!!!
ReplyDeleteEnrique and Downing need to be sold!!!!
ReplyDeletewisdom played well but lets be trueful they were a poor side so lets not take to much out of it hope we can get a result against mu at weekend
ReplyDeleteThis Liverpool team should replace the first team with exceptions made for Suarez. Really happy for the youngster.
ReplyDeleteSUSO is a player everybody should like full of flair and creativity.Next year is the time I think he'll shine for us but if we give him experience in EUROPE he should be happy.The club need to sort out a contract for him because his current one expires at the end of the season!
ReplyDeleteWisdom's contract is running out this year. And we've already lost Ince. Who is in charge of contract negotiations? This must be sorted out and quick.
ReplyDeleteThought Downing was less of a let-down than Carra. Pacheco looked as if he didn't care.
ReplyDeleteI thought Henderson was good, and he can never be faulted for effort, he chased an hustled and for all you people who rate players on stats-he got two assists.
ReplyDeleteenrique, downing, henderson and pacheco....i hope they 'miss' the flight home. awful,awful,awful,awful, and that is my nice assessment.
ReplyDeleteHenderson did actually play quite well and got two assist. That surely merits a return ticket.
ReplyDeleteRafa Benitez, thankyou. Soon they will understand.
ReplyDeletethey call him assaidi the ferrari!
ReplyDeleteWhat about cares her ???? Wake up and smell the coffee. He is well past it and time to hang up his boots or say goodbye
ReplyDeleteGlad to see a win tonight & well done to the youngsters. I thought Wisdom played very well & should push for a place in the senior team soon. Suso was good in parts but needs to work a lot harder off the ball. As for the negatives, Carra should maybe think about hanging them up now as his race is run. One individual who will have to take most of the criticism is Enrique. He was atrocious & had me wondering had his brother turned up to play in his place? He is a liability & I can't see him holding down the left back spot. He is definitely not a Baines!
ReplyDeleteJamie, I really don't understand why our players never push into the box! What's the point of having wingers if no one is there in the box to convert the crosses? When you watch Man Utd games, they always have at least 4 players in there, and it's something I notice with Chelsea too. That's why they score so many late goals, they just keep attacking and attacking, and pounce on any loose ball or half chance because the box is just infested with them. It seems it doesn't matter which manager we have, because they never get numbers in there. Downing's crosses can look bad sometime because they go to no one, however no one is in there!
ReplyDeleteNo need for the negative, I thought Handerson did well, Downing might not up to his game like last couple times he played, but he didn't have much game times either. Pacheco need some game times.
ReplyDeleteJonjo ought not to be shelved after his crucial cameo, but bear in mind their defence wasn't any great shakes, but as they say you can only beat what's in front of you and we did that, though it was doubtful at times. Good to know we can turn it on when we have to, at least against poor opposition.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same...Put this young team (minus Carra and Brad Jones) against Man U :) Shelvey reminds me of a young Gerrard - full of energy, right foot, left foot, and cracking goals. But the defence needs to be sorted out. I know Enrique is not at his best, Leaving him out for too long is causing his form to drop. I still believe with a run of games and his form returns, he is still a top left-back for us.
ReplyDeleteHow was Henderson poor? Just how? He had a good game, he worked hard and held the ball well. He was played in the holding role, and he did it well. Don't forget the assist for Shelvey.
ReplyDeleteSome of you have such narrow minds.
Henderson was very good, 2 assists, but his workrate off the ball was tremendous, how many times did he cover for other players, he has some engine, i'm pleased for him. Wisdom looked like a seasoned Pro, and a nice little glimpse of what Asaidi can do after a long layoff. All in All a good exercise, many pluses to be taken from that display. The other 2 in the group drew, which is also helpful.
ReplyDeleteNow lets take this optimism to Anfield Sunday,
Sahin was very neat in his passing..I believe he is better than allen because he makes many forward passes.Suso was very good, full of flair and creativity I want to see them play more often.Assaidi is not bad,I think he can play better on right side.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of ppl defending Downing with that excuse - I agree that we should be getting more ppl into the box, but if nobody's in there, wth is the point in him just dumping the ball in there anyway?!
ReplyDeletesuso didnt look out of place and and should be on the bench on sunday, give united an element of surprise he also hardly gave the ball away, downing however looked like he was trying to give it away everytime
ReplyDeleteFor the first goal, I was wondering about the logic and wisdom of crossing a ball into the penalty area where there were 4 yellow shirts, and only one red one arriving late. Don't these players train in economising play and sending intelligent balls in where actual strikers or attacking midfielders stand a chance of connecting, and by doing so scoring? That own goal was a farce!
ReplyDeletewell said my friend...:)...i think enrique needs some pace nothing else ...think this team with agger and suarez ..
ReplyDeleteYou know what good for him usually he play OK considering hes out of possition etc etc and gets slated, he was in his position and showed hes much better there than where we had him
ReplyDeleteBORINI WAS BRLL
ReplyDeleteno enrique was exposed for what he is. Thats why Johnson is playing there. Gave the ball away too much and that is nothing to do with match fitness. Yes we know he can play better but he is limited and i do like my full backs to be both footed if possible.
ReplyDeletetrust me pacheco wont make the grade.
ReplyDeleteyep the lad did his job especically in attack. plays better when he doesnt have to think
ReplyDeleteI thought henderson was excellent. some people are pre-disposed to be negative against him.
ReplyDeletePacheco is not a striker and i believe it is unreasonable to judge him on that performance. wisdom and shelvey were very good and i like the new lad assaidi.
I have said before our kids are showing significant signs
agreed somepeople are to easy to jump on the bandwagon. but why did we waist 6 million on coates ? he is so slow. players go passed him to easy and he dangles his leg out . his positional sense is poor. but the main problem is no pace . seeing young wisdom makes me think we have waisted more money
ReplyDeleteYes, I see your point, but if no one is getting in there, it's severely limiting the job downing can do, thus making him look worse. Wingers are primarily there to run down the sideline and cross it into the strikers. That is there CORE job, and it's been worked with great success for utd over the years. I'm not saying that Downing is a class player that is severely misunderstood, but his team mates haven't supported his purpose very well
ReplyDeleteAdding to that, The midfield feed downing with passes that imply for him to take a run and cross it. So they say, "here you go Stewart! Just take the ball down there, and Luis, Andy and the rest of ourselves will meet back with you there." So Downing dribbles down, his cross knocks on the door, but no one's home! Even if he didn't cross it, he'd be cutting back into the same old formation of unnecessarily deep midfielders and one or two strikers in the box, starting a trend of misdirection and lack of ideas. At least they were more inventive against utd today
ReplyDelete