Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers defended striker Luis Suarez against accusations of diving during the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. “I thought we should have had a penalty in the first half when [Leandro] Bacuna handles the ball,” Rodgers said. “The second I thought was a penalty. Luis has taken it up to the keeper and, once he has touched it around him, his body makes contact with Luis.” Referring to Villa boss Paul Lambert, he added: “Obviously from Pauls perspective he will think it has been harsh.” On his adventurous team selection, which saw defensive midfielder Lucas Leiva dropped to accommodate Sturridge, Rodgers added: “I go with my gut feeling. I thought it was an offensive team. “I have played that before. If you want to blame me, blame me. It is a good point. I dont think we were anywhere near our level in the first half, give credit to Villa for that. The front two was a real threat for us and tactically we had to change it.” Lambert, meanwhile, did not believe it was a penalty but remained diplomatic. He said: “Brad has pulled his arms away. It is hard for the referee to judge it. He has a split-second decision to make it but I think Brad used his experience to pull his arms away and then you get punished.” Asked whether he thought Suarez had dived, he added: “Ill let you be the judge of that. I am not being critical of anyone. Im not getting caught into that, the guy is a world-class player.”
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 04:15:05 +0000
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