Leicester will ‘relish’ Boxing Day showdown with Liverpool despite defeat at Man City, says Brendan Rodgers

The Foxes missed the chance to reduce Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League as they lost 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Jamie Vardy did put Leicester in front but former player Riyad Mahrez’s deflected strike levelled the game before Ilkay Gundogan’s put Man City in front with a penalty.

Gabriel Jesus’ second-half goal sealed the three points for Man City.

It means Leicester remain ten points off the top having also played a game more than Liverpool, although they are still ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side by a point.

They’ll have to get over the Man City defeat quickly though as Leicester take on Liverpool, who won the Club World Cup on Saturday, on Boxing Day.

And Rodgers insists he and his players will ‘relish’ the prospect of facing the leaders, telling talkSPORT’s Sam Matterface: “Nights like this, even when you lose, are great games to learn in.

“It will be a totally different type of game against Liverpool, playing a different way but they have equally top class players.

“So for us, we’ll relish that opportunity to bounce back and look to get a performance at home and hopefully look to get a good result.

“With them, you have to be aware of the counter-attack. The speed they have in the team whenever they have Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah breaking through so you’ve always got to ensure when you build a game you have to protect it.