Liverpool vice-captain Jordan Henderson has revealed that he was trying to protect the young players in the side when he squared up to Diego Costa during the Capital One Cup clash against Chelsea at Anfield.
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Henderson confronted the Brazilian born Spaniard during the first leg semi-final match in January, before later approaching him in the tunnel as well.
Quoted in the Daily Mail he explained what he was trying to do, “I didn’t want to make any statement. It was just in that game, he was trying to intimidate some of our younger players, which I didn’t really like.
“He’s a fantastic player that any team would want because of that passion and aggression he’s got. I just don’t like the way he was doing things with our players.”
The Reds went on to lose the semi-final tie, going down in the second leg to a Branislav Ivanovic goal, but have been one of the Premier League’s form teams as they go in search of fourth place after a new year revival.
Henderson also told how he would love to be Liverpool’s new captain when outgoing Steven Gerrard leaves for LA Galaxy.
He said, “It would be an absolute honour to be captain. I’d love it. At the same time, we have a lot of leaders and characters in the group that could do it as well.
“If it was someone else, I’d be right behind them.”