Rodgers weighs in on red card drama; calls Leicester star among game’s greats

Brendan.Rodgers.Leicester.TEAMtalk

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers voiced his thoughts on the game changing red card given to Eddie Nketiah, and described one of his stars as one of the top players in his position.

The Foxes equalised late through Jamie Vardy to snatch a point versus Arsenal at The Emirates.

Arsenal were in the ascendancy for much of the contest, but Rodgers was adamant his side did not deserve to come out on the losing end.

“I thought a point was the minimum we deserved,” said Rodgers.

“We started well and then conceded too much space and they got the goal from that. There was a spell for 15 minutes where it was a bit like basketball.

“The game was a bit open for my liking. Towards the end of the first half we connected the game better and second half I felt we were excellent.

“We played with composure and got into some good areas. At 11-10 we managed it really well, got the goal and unfortunate not to have got a second.

“It is very important to think on performance. After a good start we stopped taking the ball and stopped making our passes. We started to rush the passes but second half was more like it with the speed and positioning in the game.”

The turning point in the game undoubtedly came via the red card for Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah.

The initial yellow card was upgraded to a red following a VAR review, and Rodgers believed the correct decision was made.

“It was a red card,” he added. “I don’t think the kid meant it, he was stretching for it but the studs were up. I think they made the right decision.

FULL MATCH REPORT: Leicester peg Arsenal back after rapid fire Nketiah red costs Gunners

“Kasper made some great saves in the first half. He is up there with the top keepers at this level.

“I think this is a really, really important point for us to keep the momentum going. I am delighted with it.”

Leicester’s equaliser came via the boot of Vardy, who kept up his remarkable goalscoring records versus The Gunners.

The frontman was quick to put the focus back on the team rather than individual exploits, however, stating: “We started the game well. When we went 1-0 down we started panicking a bit.

“Going down to 10 men meant they worked even harder but we stuck to our plan and got the goal.

“Doesn’t matter who scores as long as we are picking points up.

“We wanted to keep the momentum going, back into training now and focus on next week.”