Rodgers pleased with new boys' Anfield debuts
Brendan Rodgers declared himself highly satisfied with the Anfield debuts of five of his summer signings against Bournemouth on Monday evening.
Liverpool secured a second win of the campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 success over the Cherries courtesy of a first-half strike from Christian Benteke.
The Belgium striker was one of a quintet of new faces to make their home bows – and Rodgers was pleased with how they performed on the night.
The manager told Liverpoolfc.com: “I thought they did well.
“I thought James Milner was outstanding, Nathaniel Clyne you can see is such a good defender and wants to get forward and the young boy, Joe Gomez, at 18 years of age this is a big step up for him, but he’s coping very well.
“Benteke will be disappointed he didn’t get two goals, but he got off the mark and his all-round play was excellent.
“[Roberto] Firmino came on and worked hard – and he knows he’s adjusting to the Premier League and that his fitness and game will get better.”
Rodgers elected to field the same team that had begun the campaign with a victory at Stoke City on the Barclays Premier League’s opening weekend.
However, the boss explained there was more to his line-up selection than just rewarding the players who’d performed admirably at the Britannia Stadium.
“It was about picking the best team,” he said. “A number of the boys aren’t up to speed yet fitness-wise, which is understandable because they came back later.
“It’s about picking the best team to get the points and they played very well. It was as much about the team that finished [the game] – Alberto Moreno came into the game and was excellent, giving good cover for Joe Gomez on the left side.”