Rodgers heaps praise on Barnes after beating Burnley
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers singled out midfielder Harvey Barnes after his side went top of the table with an entertaining 4-2 home defeat of Burnley, the result marking his 100th Premier League win.
Rodgers, who narrowly missed out on winning the title with Liverpool in 2014, was also pleased with the overall performance of his team, who lead the standings on goal difference.
“Harvey Barnes was outstanding tonight, he keeps on getting into areas you want him to and is a big talent,” Rodgers said.
“He has wonderful ability, great running power, lasts the whole game, takes you up the pitch from deep possession and is improving all the time.”
Barnes scored Leicester’s equaliser after they fell behind to an early Chris Wood strike and pulled the strings for the home side as they romped to a 3-1 lead before Jimmy Dunne pulled one back for Burnley.
Barnes then delivered a fine pass for Dennis Praet to seal victory with a superb shot.
Rodgers, who led Leicester to a fifth-placed finish last term as they missed out on Champions League football on the final day of the season, said the Foxes must keep their feet on the ground after a good start.
“We won’t be getting carried away. We stay calm, it’s only the second game. We hope to get better as the season goes on.
“How we finished in terms of league position last season was great and we want to build on that. We aim to be competitive with the talent we have.”
Barnes added that a stuttering finish last term had galvanised Leicester to make a flying start to their new Premier League campaign.
“We spoke before the game that it was a long time since we won back-to-back matches so it was important to put on a performance but mainly to get the result, which we did.
“At the back end of last season we weren’t up to scratch and had to improve. Having done that, everything is very positive.” —