Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers called his side’s performance brilliant in the destruction of Arsenal at Anfield yesterday.
The Reds scored four goals in the first 20 minutes of the game to make the league leaders look like an average team as Liverpool moved five points ahead of Everton with their ambitions of at least a fourth place finish looking to be right on track.
When speaking to Sky Sports after the match Rodgers said: “Overall, the players were tactically brilliant and you saw their appetite and hunger for the game. That was important for us.”
“We were brilliant today, a wonderful performance in such a prestigious game between the two teams. We do a lot of work on our pressing. I always feel if we press well, we can pass well.
“To play like that, not just the result, but the performance level was absolutely out of this world. I’m very pleased and it’s another marker for us that we’re getting better and improving all the time.”
The Liverpool boss thinks that the significance of the win will be good for the youngsters in the team.
“We’ve had a number of great wins and a number of outstanding performances,” added Rodgers.
“Tottenham away was outstanding; Everton at home we were outstanding in a pressure game; we got the result against Manchester United and played reasonably well.
“This year was going to hopefully be another big step for our development. Look around the team – we’ve got 19-year-old players, Raheem Sterling was incredible.
“We had an 18-year-old coming on, Coutinho is 21, young Jon Flanagan is 20 years of age. It’s a very young side, but with a wonderful appetite for the game and a wonderful ability to learn.
“They want to learn and progress. You can see as time goes on, the idea to press well and pass well. That was the key for us today.”
The Northern Irishman refused to speculate on whether Liverpool could now consider themselves title contenders.
“There’s no doubt we’ve been outstanding for a big part of the season,” continued Rodgers.
“We’ve had one or two off days, but in the main the quality of our game has been incredible.
“The objective has always been to finish as high as we possibly can, but you have to also look at the other teams around. We’ll just keep focused and keep our concentration.
“I want to be in a position where we can really challenge for the title. The players have been incredible; we just hope to continue with that development and see where it takes us.”
