|
|
Rodgers: Liverpool missed Carragher in Southampton defeat
Mar 18, 2013 8:05:00 AM
The 35-year-old defender was ruled out by a shin injury on Saturday and watched his team-mates struggle at the back and slump to a 3-1 loss against Mauricio Pochettino's team
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that the Reds missed the presence of Jamie Carragher in defence during the 3-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday.Carragher missed the clash at St Mary's with a shin injury so Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel were paired at centre-back.
Rodgers acknowledged that his team must improve as a defensive unit but insisted that the problem ran all the way through the team and refused to pin the blame on any specific players.
"There's no question," he told reporters when asked if Liverpool had missed Carragher. "For us, it's an area we feel we need to be better in.
"We defend from the front. It's the team. We never defended well as a team so it's unfair to criticise those two [Agger and Skrtel].
"They'll be disappointed of course, as defenders, when we concede goals. We've been in a run of late where we either don't concede or we do, two or three.
"So it was one where our defensive line always starts from the front of the pitch. This is a group, when we lose, we lose together."
Several Liverpool players will now leave the club for the international break and Rodgers hoped the brief departure from club football would prove beneficial.
"Maybe you've just got to go away and reflect on the last few weeks," he added. "Because it's important for us to maintain the efforts that we have been putting in that have got us results.
"Today we let those standards slip a wee bit so we just need to get back now and refocus on that and I'm sure we'll see a different side against Aston Villa."
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets |
|
| Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached! |
|
| Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET! |
|
Related Stories
Inside Goal.Com
-
Real Madrid are better off without Mourinho
The Portuguese's position had become untenable in recent weeks, especially after Friday's debacle in the Copa del Rey. Now he's leaving, but the club can grow stronger without him
-
AVB, Levy & Lewis to thrash out Tottenham plans
After missing out on a place in the Champions League, the north London side are devising a way to keep Gareth Bale at the club and attract new stars to White Hart Lane
-
Bayern's jinx - CL final referee Nicola Rizzoli
Goal takes a look at the career of the Italian arbiter to date following Uefa's decision to appoint the 41-year-old for Saturday's showpiece at Wembley
-
Cartoon: Casillas' birthday wish comes true
Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day
-
Goal's Serie A awards for 2012-13
Goal crowns the best and worst from Italy over the course of the season
