• Premier League

Liverpool 'broken' after loss of key players, says Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers brought in nine new players over the summer © Getty Images

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Brendan Rodgers has admitted his Liverpool side are "a bit broken" after three defeats in their opening five Premier League matches this season.

Rodgers, whose team sit 11th in the table with six points from a possible 15, said that the introduction of a raft of new signings this summer had disrupted the club's philosophy.

"We're reintroducing the principles that brought us the win ratio we've had over the last 18 months," he said. "Our game was based on high intensity but, apart from that Tottenham game, we've moved away from that."

Liverpool looked impressive when they defeated Tottenham 3-0 at White Hart Lane last month but have since lost two league games in a row, to Aston Villa and West Ham.

The also laboured to an unconvincing 2-1 victory over Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League last week and needed penalties to get past Middlesbrough in the League Cup on Tuesday.

"We put in a lot of hard work in the first six months to a year we were here, and a lot of those processes became natural," Rodgers added. "The consequence of that was winning.

"But we introduced a raft of new players - you lose the core of players who were important, and that's obviously a factor and then it becomes a bit broken.

"That's how our game has looked for a big part of the season, but I have a group of players here who identify with that.

"We need to get back and refocus on what has allowed us win games consistently over the last 18 months to two years."

Liverpool were runners-up last season, missing out on their first top flight title in 24 years by just two points to Manchester City. Over the summer, they lost star striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona before bringing in nine players, including the unpredictable Mario Balotelli.

Rodgers has also been hindered by injuries to several key players, including lead striker Daniel Sturridge, who scored 26 goals while partnering Suarez in the League last season.

"He's someone who responds well to treatment," Rodgers said of Sturridge. "He's out on the field but there's still a couple of days to go before the game. He certainly won't be match fit but it'll be great to have him back because he's a wonderful player for us.

"We'll be very happy to have him back and we're hoping that can be this weekend, but we'll assess over the next couple of days."

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