Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, has hit back at critics for his team selection against Real Madrid last night.
The Reds travelled to the Bernabeu stadium coming off a 3-0 defeat to the Spanish giants at Anfield a few weeks prior, and Rodgers made the decision to drop several first-team figures with the weekend clash against Chelsea in mind.
Liverpool were without the likes of; Dejan Lovren, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli, but after the game, Rodgers defended his team selection and hit back at the critics and fans that disagreed with his choices.
One of the main critics was Gary Linekar, who questioned why a team like Liverpool would drop so many players ahead of a massive European game, but Rodgers hit back at the BBC Pundit, stating he’s never been a manager so cannot comment.
Rodgers said: “Gary’s a figure who I respect and he’s been a top player in his day, but he has never been a manager so he really does not know what you’re up against with planning and training. This was far from us throwing in the white towel.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in every one of his last 12 games so my players put in a performance that did befit this club with the quality and spirit. In terms of my team selection I’m not really bothered about the criticism. I go with my gut feeling.
“We have seven games in 21 days and because we cannot train so much we have to develop in the games. I did not see this as the big showpiece game where we have to play the big names.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
