Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has praised both the Reds’ defence and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet after his side saw off Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park on Saturday.
It was another ‘complete’ performance from Liverpool on the weekend, as Rodgers described it in the post-match interview, another clean sheet following the 1-0 win at Sunderland last weekend and more reasons to smile for the fans and supporters who are starting to see what they expect from their side.
Martin Skrtel, Emre Can and Mamadou Sakho gained another clean sheet after their first appearance together in a back three away at Burnley, where they won 1-0, after Can came on in the second half for his first taste of centre half duty prior to Sterling’s winner.
Rodgers spoke about Belgium shot-stopper Simon Mignolet to the Liverpool Echo regarding his recent performances.
“I felt today he looked like a Liverpool goalkeeper – dominant, calm and when called upon, he made a great save.”
Mignolet was on hand to see off a close range effort from fellow Belgian Christian Benteke.
“Most impressive for me was when the corners came in. He took the pressure off the defenders and came through people.”
Regarding his defence, Rodgers was equally happy.
“We have great control of the ball. You look at Emre Can, strong, aggressive, and intelligent. The guy is a central midfielder but he was awesome. Aggressive, but he can play football.”
“Skrtel is a reliable defender, good experience playing central and obviously Sakho wants to defend. We put Markovic in there who may not be the tallest or biggest, but they’re hard to beat and that’s what we ask them to be.”
“The team is functioning very well; keeping the performance level high and winning.”
“The players remain calm, stay strong with good positioning. They made good blocks, there were good defensive moments and I felt we were always a threat going forward as well (vs. Aston Villa).“
