Brendan Rodgers praised the performance of his Liverpool players during the 1-3 victory over Bournemouth on Wednesday night, which set the Reds up with a mouth-watering semi-final tie against Chelsea.
A double from Raheem Sterling and a first Liverpool goal for Lazar Markovic saw the Reds see off the Championship leaders, on a night where there were plenty of positives to take from the performance for the under-pressure Rodgers.
He said: “I thought it was a brilliant performance from us tonight, it was always going to be a difficult job, but we controlled the game and pressed at the right times and created chances. We thoroughly deserved it.
“Raheem Sterling has got some stick recently which I find extraordinary. He is a kid of 19 and 20 he has been outstanding for us. He may not have scored the goals that some people expect, but I expect him to score goals and provide assists over the course of the season.
“His best position is on the left but he can play across the line and has the qualities to play in a central role, as he has for our youth teams.”
When asked his thoughts on drawing Chelsea in the semi finals, the Northern Irishman said: “It didn’t matter who we got in the draw, it was just important to get there – to win this competition you have to win games against big sides.”
