Friday, 26th October, 2012
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has paid tribute to his players after they secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League, and insisted the Merseyside derby has not entered his head yet.
Stewart Downing, handed a chance to impress by Rodgers, scored the only goal of the game in the 53rd minute, as Liverpool grabbed three points and with it hit the top of Group A, with six points from three games; Anzhi come next with four points, along with Udinese, while Swiss side Young Boys, who put the Italians to the sword in the group’s other match, winning 3-1, are bottom with three points.
Rodgers bucked the trend of his team selections in Europa League games, by playing what looked to be almost a full strength team. It included centre back pairing Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, midfielders Steven Gerrard and Nuri Sahin, and the talented Luis Suarez up front.
The team selection was all the more surprising given that Liverpool have a vital Merseyside derby against Everton to come on Sunday – which is all the more important given that the Reds are currently well below the Toffees in the Premier League standings.
But Rodgers insists he has not even thought about the Everton clash yet.
"Great credit to the players after that", the Liverpool manager was quoted as saying by the BBC.
relatedNewsStory"I haven’t even thought about the derby, with our squad it’s one game at a time."
And the former Swansea manager saluted Downing, who scored a superb goal and who has answered some of the criticism sent his way; some from Rodgers himself.
"Stewart Downing scored a brilliant goal. He is a wonderful technician off either foot.
"He has had a rough ride here, it’s been a tough time but he is a good guy and an important member of our team and he got a good reception from the Kop."
