BRENDAN RODGERS hailed the character of his Liverpool players after a tactical switch helped earn an unlikely point at Chelsea.

Rodgers’s side were seemingly on their way to another Premier League defeat after John Terry’s 20th-minute opener earned the hosts a deserved lead at Stamford Bridge yesterday.

But having started the match with three central defenders, the Liverpool manager altered to a flat back four for the final half-hour and saw his team respond with Luis Suarez netting the equaliser 17 minutes from time.

The visitors could have then snatched all three points in the closing stages, and Rodgers held his hands up at his initial selection mistake.

“I thought we were excellent second half,” said the Northern Irishman. “We were a wee bit tentative first half, and that was my fault.

“We've normally played with three front players that allow us to press the ball further up the field, but I went 3-5-2 first half to give Luis a bit more support up front, but we couldn't quite press it.

“That's a big part of our game, allowing us to be on the front foot and win the ball higher. Going back to a 4-2-3-1 allowed us to get more on the front foot.”

Rodgers added: “There was great character from the players yet again. To come here, it's a terrific point.

“It's a difficult place to come, the European champions, so I'm delighted for our young players.

“Our seniors are doing incredibly for me. Liverpool had had a massive group of seniors over the years, but Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson are having to dig a bit deeper now. It's a great point moving forward.”

Suarez, whose goal was his 11th of the season and eighth in 11 Premier League matches, was also involved in an accidental collision with John Terry that resulted in the Chelsea skipper being stretchered off and departing Stamford Bridge on crutches and wearing a leg brace amid fears of a serious knee ligament injury.