Rodgers blasts VAR official Tierney over 'really soft' penalty after Leicester lose at Man City

Brendan Rodgers was left furious at VAR official Paul Tierney after Leicester City shipped six at Manchester City and bemoaned a lengthening injury crisis.

The Foxes were four down within 25 minutes, with Rodgers aghast at the penalty awarded for City’s second goal when Aymeric Laporte went down under a Youri Tielemans challenge.

Rodgers appeared confused at Tierney’s interpretation of the laws a week after the official was publicly lambasted by Jurgen Klopp on the pitch at Tottenham.

‘The second goal was nowhere near a penalty,’ he said. ‘It's so frustrating. Paul Tierney, the VAR, has missed very physical challenges in the last few weeks but deems that a penalty. He (Laporte) has fallen over. It was really, really soft.’

Rodgers told his players to win the second half at the break and they launched an unlikely comeback by scoring three goals in a 10-minute spree.

But City ran out winners and Leicester’s mounting injury problems continue to act as a significant concern. Seven first-team regulars remain out, while Ryan Bertrand twisted his knee during the warm-up.

Rodgers admitted that he could not call on either Jamie Vardy or Wilfried Ndidi despite both being named on the bench and claimed the situation is the worst he has ever faced as a manager.

‘It definitely is,’ he added. ‘There’s no doubt this is a huge challenge. We’re not getting the violins out. You see what we’re missing. The players aren’t available.

‘Offensively we’re really good but if you’re missing the players (we are) it’s a real challenge. We’re not City, Liverpool or Manchester Utd.

‘Take (Jonny) Evans, (Caglar) Soyuncu, (Ricardo) Pereira, James Justin and Wesley Fofana out of our squad then it’s huge. We have to keep trying to find the solutions. We’ll continue to fight. We competed at the top of the league disrupting everything when we had players available.’

Patson Daka will miss the next three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat. Pereira is set for a two-month absence after fracturing his fibula following Tyler Morton’s heavy tackle at Anfield.

City reached 50 Premier League goals for the season – scoring 17 in their last three matches – and extended their lead over Liverpool to six points.

Pep Guardiola claimed that he never felt fully in control of the Boxing Day victory, even though the defending champions had appeared to put the game to bed. Raheem Sterling, who scored twice, criticised the team for failing to kill Leicester off.

‘The manager warned us at half-time,’ Sterling said. ‘Leicester conceded four in the first half but every time they attacked, they created chances.

‘It's disappointing. We just had to control the game. At 4-0 up you have to kill the game. Leicester have some really good players. They didn't get disheartened and kept going.’

Guardiola said: ‘The game was open. It was weird. Even at 4-0, it was not closed. They are big club with a lot of quality. The game was so dangerous. Every time they get the ball and arrive in the final third they create chances. Football is unpredictable and that is why it is so nice.’

Rodgers believed Leicester deserved more. ‘They’ve had a free week to prepare, physically in great condition without too many players missing,’ he said.

‘The actual scoreline at half-time didn’t quite reflect the game,’ he said. ‘They had nine shots, we had eight but we’re 4-0 down.

‘We challenged the players to win the second half. We had to show what mentality and character that is in this team. We’re not a team that ever unravels physically or mentally. They showed an incredible spirit with some great football.’