Football
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Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool lack 'courage and bravery' in big matches

Liverpool's players will need to learn from another chastening big-game defeat after Sunday's FA Cup semifinal to Aston Villa, manager Brendan Rodgers said.

Philippe Coutinho's third FA Cup goal of the season gave the Reds the lead after half an hour, but Villa fought back to win the last-four encounter 2-1 through Christian Benteke, with his ninth goal in seven games, and Fabian Delph.

It was Liverpool's second semifinal disappointment of the season, having lost out to Chelsea over two legs in the Capital One Cup in January, while there have been a number of other times when the Reds have failed to rise to the occasion.

Needing to win at home to Basel to extend their Champions League campaign beyond the group stage they could only draw, while having got within a victory of the top four they recently lost back-to-back matches against Manchester United and Arsenal to see their hopes of a return to Europe's elite take a nosedive.

Last season, Liverpool's hopes of winning the Premier League - boosted after a run of nine straight wins from late February until mid-April -- were dashed late in the season when they lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea. 

Rodgers has a relatively young squad but he has rejected suggestions they struggle to overcome the mental barrier associated with big games and hopes they can take something useful from their defeats.

"There's an obligation here to fight till the very end,' Rodgers said. "We've come close now in two competitions but failed to make the steps.

"There will be disappointment over the next few days but we now have to get ready for our next league game. This last block of games, it's more the performance level hasn't been what we would like.

"We need to have the courage and bravery to play better in the big games. We looked as if the occasion and the energy got to us a wee bit. But that's what can happen sometimes.

"We've reached two semifinals. We need to have the courage now to play better in the big games because we didn't play well enough [against Villa].

"Technically we weren't quite on it. We looked like the occasion got to us a little bit. Sometimes you can want to win too much. Hopefully in the future we can learn from that. 

"We've come up short in a few games, it's something we need to improve. All these experiences will make them better. We're a team that's grown and changed quite a bit in the summer and all these experiences will hopefully help in the future." 

Defeat ended the hopes of a fairytale end to club captain Steven Gerrard's Liverpool career, as he could have made his final appearance for the Reds in an FA Cup final on his 35th birthday before moving to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the summer.

"Is it a shame? Absolutely," Rodgers said. "He did everything he possibly could to help the team. I thought he was excellent today. Collectively we didn't perform well enough."

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