Friday, 21st September, 2012

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has praised his side’s entertaining 5-3 Europa League victory over Swiss Super League outfit Young Boys.

Rodgers opted to leave a number of senior professionals at home and take a young looking side to Switzerland for the clash.

relatedNewsStory The Reds did not have to wait long to take the lead after Young Boys’ player Juhani Ojala mistakenly headed the ball into his own side’s net.

Young Boys struck back though, levelling the game up in the 38th minute through Raphael Nuzzolo.

It was Liverpool who would head into the break ahead however, as defender Andre Wisdom headed home five minutes before half-time.

More goals were to come in the second period, with Ojaja, in the right end this time, and Gonzalo Zarate, putting Young Boys 3-2 ahead. Then though Liverpool scored through Sebastian Coates and Jonjo Shelvey (a brace) to win the match 5-3, leaving Rodgers happy.

"I’ve got to give credit to the players, I thought they were absolutely magnificent. We had a very, very young side", the former Swansea manager told Liverpool’s official website.

"I think everyone saw Tottenham come here a couple of years ago in the Champions League and what a difficult game they had.

"I thought the boys were brilliant. It was a really tough game for us. The biggest thing we showed tonight, alongside our quality, was our character.

"We’ve got a lot of young players within the group but to come from behind away from home in a European game makes me really proud. We ran out very good winners of the game and it was a fantastic game to be involved in."

The result is a boost for Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against fierce rivals Manchester United, but Rodgers may be concerned about some of the defending from his young side in the game. Nevertheless, the Reds have got their Europa League group campaign off to the perfect start.

 

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