Brendan Rodgers: Lack of Creativity Forced Me to Replace Philippe Coutinho Against Chelsea

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that lack of creativity forced him to replace Philippe Coutinho in the second half against Chelsea.

The Brazilian international was one of the standout players as he created more chances, especially in the first half. The Reds suffered a 1-2 defeat to Chelsea at Anfield as it was their third consecutive defeat in all competitions.

The Northern Irishman introduced Fabio Borini in the 70th minute and replaced Coutinho. His substitution left Liverpool fans unhappy and the former Swansea manager was jeered by a section of the crowd.

"I didn't feel we were creating enough so I wanted to get an extra striker on to change the momentum," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.

"The fans were frustrated. We've lost three games on the spin now, they aren't used to that. I understand that there is that wee bit of frustration."

The Merseyside club took a lead from Emre Can's deflected goal in the early stages of the match. The Liverpool manager heaped praise on the German midfielder for his display against the west London club on Saturday.

It was Gary Cahill's header that helped Chelsea equalise - a goal which was confirmed with the help of the goal-line technology.

Rodgers has expressed his delight with the introduction of new technologies despite the fact that the decision went against his side.

"I thought he [Can] did very well. The plan was to play Emre because of the physicality of Chelsea. They are a big team. Emre is coming back to fitness. He looks strong and took his goal very well," the Northern Irishman said.

"The technology coming into the game has been great. Sometimes it will go for you and sometimes against you. And when you see the replay it was obviously over the line."

"For the second goal, we had to recover quicker back into the box. It may have gone out but when it doesn't go out we have to defend that little bit better," Rodgers concluded.