Aston Villa were the better team, says Brendan Rodgers

Tim Sherwood’s men came from behind to win 2-1 and book their place in next month’s FA Cup Final, where they will take on Arsenal.

And Rodgers believes Villa fully deserved the result.

The Reds boss said: "We're obviously bitterly disappointed but more with the performance.

"You can always lose a game but you need to play well and give yourself an opportunity.

"We had some chances but I thought they were better than us to be honest."

Rodgers continued: "Sometimes you can want to win too much. The focus comes away from what allows you to win.

"The team in the last couple of years have shown great energy, attitude and commitment. I thought our energy was low today.

"Villa had a good start to the game and we were too passive.

Steven Gerrard is closed down by Fabian Delph

"We changed the system, got some joy and got in front but we didn't keep the lead long enough.

"In the second half we hoped to play better but we just didn't create enough.”

Philippe Coutinho gave Liverpool the lead on the half-hour mark, but Villa responded with goals from Christian Benteke, revitalised under Sherwood, and captain Fabian Delph.

And Villa’s win means there will be no fairytale ending to Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool career.

The former England skipper could have celebrated his 35th birthday on Saturday 30 May by captaining his boyhood club in the Wembley showpiece.

"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."

He added: "We need to have the courage now to play better in the big games because we didn't play well enough today.

"Technically we weren't quite on it. We looked like the occasion got to us a little bit.

"The players have that courage, you've just got to be consistent with it.

"That ability to build a game from behind and deal with the pressure, it's important."