The former Swansea manager was thrilled with his side’s victory in south Wales, while he played down suggestions that defending is not a priority for the Reds
Brendan Rodgers hailed Liverpool’s mental strength and resilience after their pulsating 6-3 Premier League win over Cardiff City.
Jordon Mutch and Fraizer Campbell twice put Cardiff in front, scoring either side of Luis Suarez’s 16th-minute strike, before Martin Skrtel equalised for Liverpool before the break.
Skrtel was on hand once again to edge Liverpool ahead for the first time early in the second half, before Suarez and Daniel Sturridge found the net to move the game away from the hosts.
Mutch and Suarez both scored again late on in the goal-packed encounter at the Cardiff City Stadium, with Rodgers delighted to see his side fight back to win and remain firmly in the title running.
“I thought we were probably a bit too deep in the first half, we gave too much space to their players that were a threat,” he said.
“Fraizer Campbell and Craig Bellamy did very well during that opening period of the game – we lost the ball one or two times too cheaply but we were still an offensive threat.
“At half-time we shortened the pitch a bit more, reinforced our idea to dominate the ball and that led to our creation of chances.
“We showed great resilience mentally and again showed our offensive power in our game. We also stayed very focused and composed, so it’s an outstanding result for us.
“Some elements of our game were very good against a newly-promoted team, which is always difficult.”
After moving to 82 league goals for the season in south Wales – a club record in the Premier League – Rodgers also looked to dismiss comparisons with Kevin Keegan’s famous ‘Entertainers’ at Newcastle United.
Liverpool have also conceded 38 top-flight goals this term but Rodgers played down suggestions that his team care little about their goals against column.
“We’re off the back of two clean sheets and I think (Keegan’s side) were a totally different team – they were a wonderful team but it’s not how we work to outscore opponents,” he added.
“We work on our balance but we just conceded poor goals – we just conceded too much space. The key thing is how we respond and how we’ve grown over these past 18 months.
“There’s been that mental resilience and that confidence to know we can get back in the game.
“You look at our imagination, our creativity. I think the crowd sensed every time we were in their half we could score so that’s a wonderful recognition for the type of team we are.
“We’re certainly not a team that’s not worried about defending, that’s not the case at all.
“We’ve got footballers, we’ve got technicians that can open up the game for us.”