The 41-year-old praised the mentality shown in Tuesday’s win over the Championship club at Anfield but says they must cut out the errors they are making each week
Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool are making too many mistakes in their games after they narrowly edged past Middlesbrough via a thrilling penalty shootout in the League Cup on Tuesday evening.
The match ended 2-2 after extra time following Patrick Bamford’s late equaliser but Liverpool triumphed 14-13 on penalties at Anfield to progress to the last 16 of the competition.
Rodgers’ men headed into the fixture following back-to-back defeats in the Premier League and while the 41-year-old admits his side must cut out the errors they are consistently making, he has praised the mentality of his players.
“It was great for the spirit of the team. The dressing room is very happy, we got through and we’re into the next round,” Rodgers told reporters.
“We haven’t started great this season, but whilst we’ve still been finding our form, I think we’ve shown in the cup games and in the tournaments that we certainly have that character and fight.
“I was obviously pleased to get through and that experience, even though it was a long night for everyone, was great for our young players. It’s good to win, no matter how you win.
“We played OK in the game; we didn’t create a great deal, to be honest, but we showed good perseverance to keep going. Like the way it is at the moment, we made too many mistakes and we got punished for that in the game.
“We’re making mistakes at the moment, too many mistakes. The first goal I was disappointed with, and even more so the second goal.
“We were in control of the game, Middlesbrough’s legs were just about gone and we didn’t need to offer them any encouragement, but we gave the ball away sloppily and they go through and get the penalty.
“But the players showed great resilience and mentality to keep going. And at the end, when it was needed they showed wonderful composure, some of our young players stepping up to take the penalties.”