Liverpool went behind after three minutes of Wednesday night's Champions League Group B clash to a Dani Abalo goal, his second in consecutive games against the Merseyside club, but Rickie Lambert levelled for the visitors in the eighth minute before Jordan Henderson gave them the lead eight minutes before half-time.
Even though Liverpool couldn’t hold on for the win and conceded moments before the final whistle, the Northern Irishman was impressed with their performance.
Rodgers said: "The team showed wonderful character tonight. To go a goal behind in this competition so early on; you really need a team that’s together and has a spirit and I think the characterisation of the team has really come out.”
It has been a disappointing season for the club so far, with the prolonged injury to Daniel Sturridge and indifferent performances on the pitch - but the manager feels it is not as bad as it seems.
The man in charge will be buoyed by the first Champions League goals for both Lambert and Henderson, as well as an improved performance by teenager Raheem Sterling.
He added: "We are obviously disappointed with the goal at the end but it’s irrelevant, we need to win the last game against Basel. And I think at the start of the competition, we would have looked at that as the game that would have seen us through."
Basel visit Anfield in the final group game, with the winner securing their place in the knock-out stage of the competition.
If Liverpool fail to win, they will drop down into the Europa League.
That said, the former Swansea boss admits there is still work to do.
He added: “The best competitors have strong mental attitudes, and we haven’t competed well enough in the games we have lost. We have to get back to the standards we have set. Tonight is a good start for us. We need to recover and take that into the Premier League.”
source: skysport.com
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