Home
Brendan Rodgers believes Wanderers were lucky to finish Saturday’s cup clash with 11 men – but paid credit where credit was due.
The Liverpool boss remained magnanimous after the goalless draw, which gives his side a midweek replay they could do without.
Before coming to the Macron to earn a place in round five the Reds face a Capital One Cup semi-final against Chelsea and a potentially bruising home clash with Sam Allardyce’s West Ham.
But Rodgers was generally pleased with his side, even though he felt Kevin Friend should have dismissed Matt Mills for bringing down Lazar Markovic early in the second half.
“That was a poor decision,'' he said. “Matt Mills should have been sent off. You can see it clearly. Sometimes they go for you, sometimes it doesn't.”
But the Northern Irishman was far from despondent on a day when many Premier League big guns were dumped out of the competition.
"It was always going to be tough,'' he said. “Neil [Lennon] has done a great job [at Bolton] and in 16 games they've lost three. We knew it would be physically demanding and I thought the players were outstanding positionally and getting the ball into the final third. We give them credit, their goalkeeper was outstanding.
“You've seen what it's like [with results elsewhere] and if you can't win, it's important that you don't lose.”
Rodgers hinted that ex-Wanderers loanee Daniel Sturridge could be involved in the replay, and that the FA Cup remains a priority for the Merseysiders.
“Of course you want to go through, but we’re still in the hat. It’s a beautiful pitch at Bolton and that will be good for us,” he said.
“We have players coming back from injury and it’s an opportunity for them to play and for us to do well in the competition. We’re still in the hat, which is the most important thing and we’ll see that game as a very important game.”
Source
The Liverpool boss remained magnanimous after the goalless draw, which gives his side a midweek replay they could do without.
Before coming to the Macron to earn a place in round five the Reds face a Capital One Cup semi-final against Chelsea and a potentially bruising home clash with Sam Allardyce’s West Ham.
But Rodgers was generally pleased with his side, even though he felt Kevin Friend should have dismissed Matt Mills for bringing down Lazar Markovic early in the second half.
“That was a poor decision,'' he said. “Matt Mills should have been sent off. You can see it clearly. Sometimes they go for you, sometimes it doesn't.”
But the Northern Irishman was far from despondent on a day when many Premier League big guns were dumped out of the competition.
"It was always going to be tough,'' he said. “Neil [Lennon] has done a great job [at Bolton] and in 16 games they've lost three. We knew it would be physically demanding and I thought the players were outstanding positionally and getting the ball into the final third. We give them credit, their goalkeeper was outstanding.
“You've seen what it's like [with results elsewhere] and if you can't win, it's important that you don't lose.”
Rodgers hinted that ex-Wanderers loanee Daniel Sturridge could be involved in the replay, and that the FA Cup remains a priority for the Merseysiders.
“Of course you want to go through, but we’re still in the hat. It’s a beautiful pitch at Bolton and that will be good for us,” he said.
“We have players coming back from injury and it’s an opportunity for them to play and for us to do well in the competition. We’re still in the hat, which is the most important thing and we’ll see that game as a very important game.”
Source