Rodgers unhappy with ´poor defending´

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says his side ‘deserved nothing’ after losing 3-1 to an impressive Stoke City on Wednesday.

A Steven Gerrard penalty put Liverpool ahead inside two minutes at Britannia Stadium, but a Jonathan Walters brace and a Kenwyne Jones header saw Stoke to a deserved win.

Rodgers was disappointed with his side’s defending and said it had to improve if they were to take points from tough away trips in the English Premier League.

“It was a great start for us, getting our first penalty, but we just gave away poor goals tonight,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think all three goals were actually quite straightforward to defend. A direct ball, and obviously Martin Skrtel slips, which was unfortunate.

“The other two goals, we’ve got to be much better than that. That was a disappointment really.

“We got into some good areas but ultimately, when you come to places like this, it’s a difficult place to come and you’ve got to defend better or else you’ll get nothing.

“We deserved nothing because of that.”

The former Swansea manager also praised Tony Pulis and his Stoke side, who are now unbeaten in their past nine matches.

“They (Stoke) probably don’t quite get the credit they deserve and Tony’s done a brilliant job here in keeping them in this division and progressing,” Rodgers said.

“They’ve got some terrific players and they do what they do very well. But from our perspective it was poor defending.”

Pulis was delighted with the way Stoke responded to a horrible start, which saw Ryan Shawcross give away a penalty for a foul on Luis Suarez after 30 seconds.

“It was a great result and performance. I thought the response after going a goal behind after just 30 seconds was absolutely fantastic and epitomises what the group are about at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve played games where we’ve created more chances and finished 0-0 so we have been creating the chances but not been taking them.

“We have tremendous respect for Liverpool and we are very proud to host a game against such a great club and when you beat them it gives you great delight, it is always special.”