Manchester City 2-5 Leicester: 3 things we learned

Sacrificing Carabao Cup crucial for win

Anyone who had the misfortune of sitting through the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday would have found little comfort in an impending trip to the team supported by the Oasis brothers. But not in the same way that band split, Rodgers split the squad to carefully manage through a tricky run of fixtures. With Daniel Amartey the only player starting in both games (and what a great sight it is to see the Ghanaian international back in action) at the back, this afforded the legs and minds of most of the first eleven to be ready for Sunday to conserve their energy.

That was particularly evident in the second half as Pep’s boys tired and Brendan’s found a second breath. This wouldn’t have been possible if Rodgers spread the team too thin in the cup and asked them to put a shift in of sitting back and waiting for a counter.

Not to say that Rodgers didn’t want to progress in the cup but sacrifices will sometimes need to be made. With Praet, Evans and Vardy hobbling off the pitch in the second half, more injuries may loom and the only way to reduce that will be careful management of games.

The fixture congestion has not even got in full swing yet and this planning could well be an indication of how Rodgers manages European football. Potentially having two different teams training for different games during the weeks. It will be a huge challenge. But if certain games have to be to be sacrificed for results like thrashing the former Premier League champions, i’m sure many Leicester fans will be fine with it.