Monday, 12th November, 2012
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has saluted his side’s character after they came from 1-0 behind to draw with Chelsea yesterday.
Deploying an unfamiliar 5-3-2 formation, the Reds fell behind to a John Terry header in the first half, but levelled matters up when Luis Suarez struck in the second period.
Rodgers explained he had initially gone with the 5-3-2 system to give Suarez more support up front, but then switched that to a more familiar 4-2-3-1, which instantly suited the side better.
"We were a wee bit tentative in the first half, and that was my fault", he told his club’s official site.
"We normally play with three front players to press the ball much higher up the field. We played 3-5-2 in the first half just to see if we could get Luis a bit of support up front and still have the superiority in midfield with three midfield players.
"With the two front players we just couldn’t get our distances right.
"We just couldn’t quite press it and that’s a big part of our game, because it allows us to be on the front foot."
relatedNewsStoryDespite failing to win, Rodgers felt his side showed great character to at least take a point away from Stamford Bridge, with the former youth team Chelsea coach knowing just how hard that can be to do.
"Once we changed it and went back to 4-2-3-1 we got more onto the front foot again.
"Great character traits by the players once again in the second half. I know as well as anyone how difficult it is here, so it’s a terrific point and we could have won it in the end."
Liverpool still remain mired in lower mid-table however, despite their battling performance at Stamford Bridge.
Sitting 13th, the Reds have taken just 12 points from 11 games.
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