Brendan Rodgers claims Liverpool denied penalty for 'assault' on Steven Gerrard in Tottenham defeat The home side had the better of the first half and Gareth Bale's strong run and cross allowed Aaron Lennon to put them ahead in the seventh minute. Bale doubled the lead 10 minutes later with a free-kick that wrongfooted keeper Pepe Reina but he gifted Liverpool a lifeline 18 minutes from time when Lennon's goalline hack smacked him in the face and flew in for a painful own goal. Rodgers praised Liverpool's performance on the night and predicted improvement from their current 12th place in the Premier League, though he cautioned that it would take time to build a squad capable of challenging for titles. The performance level and our tempo and rhythm were relentless. If we keep playing like that, we'll climb up the table," Rodgers said, adding that fans should not expect the club to solve all their problems in the next transfer window. January won't be the answer to everything, this is a process that's going to take time.