Brendan Rodgers delighted as Leicester City avoid 'basketball match' and beat Leeds United at Elland Road

Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City didn't want to get drawn into the kind of 'basketball match' in which Leeds United thrive, as they prepared for tonight's 4-1 win over the Whites.
GAMEPLAN - Leicester City wanted to deny Leeds United space in key areas and then show their quality when they had the ball themselves, said Brendan Rodgers. Pic: Bruce RollinsonGAMEPLAN - Leicester City wanted to deny Leeds United space in key areas and then show their quality when they had the ball themselves, said Brendan Rodgers. Pic: Bruce Rollinson
GAMEPLAN - Leicester City wanted to deny Leeds United space in key areas and then show their quality when they had the ball themselves, said Brendan Rodgers. Pic: Bruce Rollinson

The Foxes took an early lead thanks to Robin Koch's errant backpass and doubled it on 21 minutes to take control. Leeds had plenty of possession and did hit back through Stuart Dallas early in the second half, but Leicester rarely looked troubled and Jamie Vardy's 76th minute goal effectively killed the game before a late penalty put the gloss on the scoreline.

Rodgers was pleased with the way his players defended, denying Leeds the space they needed to carve out chances and then attacking effectively themselves when they won the ball.

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"That's the type of performance you need to win these games," said Rodgers at full-time.

"Leeds have obviously shown so far this season what a really good attacking team they are so you know you have to defend well. You also know there is space and I said that before the game that if you can have that composure and quality to play then you'll get opportunities.

"I thought all round it was a brilliant performance. Defensively, tactically the players were very good - blocking spaces and getting tight. We're disappointed with the goal we gave away early in the second half but in some ways it helps us going forward.

"We have to show that resilience that we can cope with the pressure and then play ourselves back into the game again. It was a brilliant result for us on the back of a tough European game and travel so to come here and put in that type of performance was pleasing."

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Rodgers watched Leeds beat Aston Villa 3-0 last time out and did not want to fall into the trap of going attack for attack with Marcelo Bielsa's side.

"It starts from a way out when you're watching Leeds and how they play," he said of Leicester's preparations for the Elland Road clash.

"I watched closely the game against Aston Villa and you see how they play. They want to really attack the game. They play with wingers and stretch the pitch. They've got great mobility and rotation. Ideally they want a basketball game where it is up and down the pitch. You have to ensure you don't get involved in that.

"You have to play and have that confidence to play but also be able to deny them space."

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Rodgers recalls coming up against a similar style of football earlier in his career, north of the border, and felt Christian Fuchs was key to profiting from Leeds' man-to-man marking.

"It's a system I had experience of in Scotland when I was at Celtic," he said.

"Aberdeen were very strong in the three years I was up there and they played a very similar system.

"They were very aggressive man-to-man. Your spare man is at the back and that really worked well for us. You're trying to work to find the spare man because everyone else is one v one all over the pitch. Christian Fuchs was the spare man and you could see he stepped out and made a great pass for our first goal and I think it was for our third goal again."

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For all the preparation that went into the victory, Rodgers was keen to highlight his players' ability to carry out the gameplan effectively.

"A lot of work goes on with the staff but the players have to implement the idea," he said.