Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers stated that his team paid the price for their recent form after being held 0-0 by Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Liverpool had gone 12 games unbeaten in the league, winning seven of their last eight matches, and were expected to defeat second-tier Blackburn and give captain Steven Gerrard a chance to lead his team out at Wembley at least one more time before leaving at the season’s end.
However, they were frustrated by a disciplined and hard-working Blackburn team, who will hope to pull off a repeat of victories over Stoke City and Swansea City in the replay at Ewood Park in early April.
According to Rodgers,
The last three months we have been in outstanding form, but that (the dip) is natural. There is a physical energy in how we play and it is natural sometimes there will be a little bit of cost and that affected the speed of our play.
Rodgers gave credit to Blackburn, saying
They defended in a low block really well and put their bodies on the line and made it really difficult for us.
He described himself as
not overly disappointed
by the result, noting that Liverpool were still in the tournament.
Rodgers said,
We are still there to reach the semi-finals. Of course you want to do it and get through, but we will have plenty of coaching time to work. It just wasn’t to be.
Gerrard missed the game due to a hamstring injury, but Rodgers expects him to be fit for the league trip to Swansea on March 16. Centre-back Martin Skrtel, who was stretchered off after a collision with Rudy Gestede, was reported to be fine.
Blackburn went closest to breaking the deadlock, with Simon Mignolet forced to palm a header from Alex Baptiste over the bar. At the other end, Simon Eastwood saved from Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson late in each half.
Rodgers felt that the hosts should have had a penalty after Matthew Kilgallon stepped across Adam Lallana in the first half, saying
I definitely thought we should have had one (penalty). Adam Lallana’s challenge in the first half, it was a great move and he got his body between the man and the ball and as he went to shoot, he was knocked over. I thought that was a clear penalty.
Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer praised the fans, saying
It’s been well-documented, what we’ve been through, and they’re the ones that suffer most. They’ve sung their hearts out for 90 minutes. I thought in the 20th minute, to show their appreciation of the success of winning the Premier League was a real fitting gesture.
He also predicted that Rodgers would be in for a shock at Ewood Park, saying
Wait until he sees Ewood. He’ll think this is Wembley.
The recovered account cited reporting by Capital FM.
