Rodgers praises Reds character

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers hailed Liverpool’s determination after their 3-2 turnaround win over Tottenham on Sunday.

The Reds trailed 2-1 in the second half after Jan Vertonghen’s double came in reply to Luis Suarez’s opener, but a Stewart Downing equaliser and a penalty from Steven Gerrard won it for the hosts.

Rodgers paid tribute to his side’s response and was pleased to continue their recent form at Anfield.

“I think our character in the game was outstanding,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.

“Earlier on in the season that game might have tipped against us but the longer we’ve worked together now the more cohesion we’ve shown to keep going.

“We’re making this a difficult place to play these days and I thought the players were brilliant against an outstanding side in Tottenham and we keep the run going.”

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas rued a string of errors that consigned his side to their first defeat in 13 matches.

A succession of mistakes from Kyle Walker and Hugo Lloris allowed Downing to level matters, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto conceded the penalty in similarly calamitous circumstances.

“It’s difficult for us to take,” Villas-Boas said. “We did ever so well to come back into the game first half and then started brightly the second half.

“I think we had control of the game until we lost it. It was more down to a couple of mistakes rather than to Liverpool’s merit, although they fought very, very hard and pressed us hard and in the end they deserved.

“But it’s a pity that we lost control of the game when things looked to be going our way. Probably the (Gylfi) Sigurdsson chance for 3-1 that hits the post could be the moment of the game because that would probably mean three points for us.”

The Portuguese went on to dismiss suggestions that fatigue was the reason for Tottenham’s defeat, with the north London side having come into the game off the back of a Europa League clash with Inter on Thursday.

“I don’t think so, (it’s) nothing to do with tiredness. We looked very strong overall, our performance was excellent apart from a couple of mistakes,” he added.

“Liverpool pressed us hard on that back-pass that goes from Walker to Lloris and they deserve credit for that, for putting us under pressure really quickly.

“Moments like this can happen and you can’t be negative to the players who did ever so well to make a 12-game unbeaten run. Hopefully this setback can serve as an example to move forward.”