Gary Lineker accused Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers of throwing in the towel by selecting a weakened team against Real Madrid.
Rodgers flew in the face of convention by taking out big names like Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli for Liverpool’s biggest European assignment since 2009.
Though they defended stoically, Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Karim Benzema’s first-half goal and rarely troubled Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The changes, which come ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Anfield in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, prompted Lineker to criticise Rodgers and describe his selection as ‘unbefitting of a club of Liverpool’s stature’.
Lineker said on Twitter: ‘Rodgers has left out Henderson, Sterling, Balotelli, Gerrard and Coutinho at Real Madrid. He has, though, thrown in a white towel.
‘Selecting a weakened side in Europe’s premier competition, especially against Real Madrid, is unbefitting of a club of Liverpool’s stature.
‘If I were one of Liverpool’s star players, I’d be choked to be left out of a game at the Bernabeu against the European champions.’
Rodgers, however, insisted he had nothing to apologise for and hit back, saying Lineker lacked the know-how to appreciate why he made the decisions.
Rodgers said: ‘Gary is a figure I respect and he was a top player but he has never been a manager, so probably doesn’t truly understand what you are up against in terms of planning forward that way.
‘We were certainly far from throwing it away. You know, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in every game since the Spanish Super Cup final. That shows you how hard we defended and how hard we worked. Right to the very end I think my players put in a performance that showed their passion, their commitment and their quality. That would be my answer. I am not bothered about the criticism.’
Lineker later backtracked slightly, tweeting: ‘Rodgers intimating that many of his players were dropped for being awful at Newcastle rather than being rested. If that’s true, fair enough.’
However, he was not alone in questioning Rodgers. Paul Scholes expressed sympathy for Gerrard, who came on in the 70th minute to a standing ovation.
Scholes said on ITV: ‘I think Steven Gerrard is capable of playing in this game and on Saturday (against Chelsea). It is Tuesday night, he’ll have two days’ recovery, train Friday, play Saturday and he’s got a nice little two weeks off. I think that’s probably why he gave up international football, to play in games like this. I don’t think he’ll be happy.’
Another ITV pundit, Lee Dixon, added: ‘That team for me says he is prioritising the weekend game against Chelsea. He is saying if we win our last two Champions League games we will probably qualify but it is risky.’
Rodgers accepted Liverpool have their work cut out to get out of Group B. They need to win their final two games, at Ludogorets and home to Basle.
Rodgers flew in the face of convention by taking out big names like Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli for Liverpool’s biggest European assignment since 2009.
Though they defended stoically, Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Karim Benzema’s first-half goal and rarely troubled Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The changes, which come ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Anfield in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, prompted Lineker to criticise Rodgers and describe his selection as ‘unbefitting of a club of Liverpool’s stature’.
Lineker said on Twitter: ‘Rodgers has left out Henderson, Sterling, Balotelli, Gerrard and Coutinho at Real Madrid. He has, though, thrown in a white towel.
‘Selecting a weakened side in Europe’s premier competition, especially against Real Madrid, is unbefitting of a club of Liverpool’s stature.
‘If I were one of Liverpool’s star players, I’d be choked to be left out of a game at the Bernabeu against the European champions.’
Rodgers, however, insisted he had nothing to apologise for and hit back, saying Lineker lacked the know-how to appreciate why he made the decisions.
Rodgers said: ‘Gary is a figure I respect and he was a top player but he has never been a manager, so probably doesn’t truly understand what you are up against in terms of planning forward that way.
‘We were certainly far from throwing it away. You know, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in every game since the Spanish Super Cup final. That shows you how hard we defended and how hard we worked. Right to the very end I think my players put in a performance that showed their passion, their commitment and their quality. That would be my answer. I am not bothered about the criticism.’
Lineker later backtracked slightly, tweeting: ‘Rodgers intimating that many of his players were dropped for being awful at Newcastle rather than being rested. If that’s true, fair enough.’
However, he was not alone in questioning Rodgers. Paul Scholes expressed sympathy for Gerrard, who came on in the 70th minute to a standing ovation.
Scholes said on ITV: ‘I think Steven Gerrard is capable of playing in this game and on Saturday (against Chelsea). It is Tuesday night, he’ll have two days’ recovery, train Friday, play Saturday and he’s got a nice little two weeks off. I think that’s probably why he gave up international football, to play in games like this. I don’t think he’ll be happy.’
Another ITV pundit, Lee Dixon, added: ‘That team for me says he is prioritising the weekend game against Chelsea. He is saying if we win our last two Champions League games we will probably qualify but it is risky.’
Rodgers accepted Liverpool have their work cut out to get out of Group B. They need to win their final two games, at Ludogorets and home to Basle.
No comments:
Post a Comment