The Spain international went unpunished from referee Michael Oliver despite seeming to stand on Emre Can and Martin Skrtel in separate incidents during the 1-0 extra-time win which sent his side through to the final of the competition.
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And Rodgers was not happy with the way the striker acted in the game, slamming him for his violent behaviour.
“He’s an outstanding footballer,” the Liverpool manager told Sky Sports. “He obviously has this edge to him and we’ve seen the two incidents. On Emre Can that was poor, he could easily have hurdled over the player and it could have been nasty.
“And with Martin Skrtel again, there’s no need to do it, he’s clever enough. It was poor by him.”
Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw in the first-leg of the tie with the Blues and after a goalless 90 minutes on Tuesday, Branislav Ivanovic headed in the winning goal in extra time to send the Reds crashing out. Rodgers insists his side deserved to win the tie overall, stating that Chelsea were carried through by the excellent form of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“I think we were the better side over the two games,” he said.
“I think the goalkeeper has won the the tie really. Some of our play was very good and we created chances to score a couple of goals. Their keeper made a couple of very good saves and ultimately won them the tie.
“The players were dead on their feet at the end. For us to be successful it has to hurt at times as well. I thought we gave Chelsea a lot of problems but it wasn’t to be.”
Rodgers condemns 'nasty' Costa, says Liverpool were the better team
BRENDAN RODGERS HAS criticised Chelsea striker Diego Costa for appearing to stamp on two Liverpool players during the League Cup semi-final.
The Spain international went unpunished from referee Michael Oliver despite seeming to stand on Emre Can and Martin Skrtel in separate incidents during the 1-0 extra-time win which sent his side through to the final of the competition.
And Rodgers was not happy with the way the striker acted in the game, slamming him for his violent behaviour.
“He’s an outstanding footballer,” the Liverpool manager told Sky Sports. “He obviously has this edge to him and we’ve seen the two incidents. On Emre Can that was poor, he could easily have hurdled over the player and it could have been nasty.
“And with Martin Skrtel again, there’s no need to do it, he’s clever enough. It was poor by him.”
Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw in the first-leg of the tie with the Blues and after a goalless 90 minutes on Tuesday, Branislav Ivanovic headed in the winning goal in extra time to send the Reds crashing out. Rodgers insists his side deserved to win the tie overall, stating that Chelsea were carried through by the excellent form of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“I think we were the better side over the two games,” he said.
“The players were dead on their feet at the end. For us to be successful it has to hurt at times as well. I thought we gave Chelsea a lot of problems but it wasn’t to be.”
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