LIVERPOOL 3 MANCHESTER CITY 2
Liverpool - Sterling 6', Skrtel 26', Coutinho 78'
Manchester City - Silva 57', Johnson 62' (og)
Man of the Match - Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admitted that yesterday's 3-2 victory over Manchester City does not mean the English Premier League title is assured, despite beating one of their biggest rivals in the race for the crown.
On a poignant day for the club, marking 25 years since the Hillsborough tragedy, manager Brendan Rodgers’s men raced into the lead with goals from Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel, but City clawed back in the second half behind David Silva and a Glen Johnson own goal.
However, Phillippe Coutinho’s strike 12 minutes from time proved decisive as Liverpool moved two points clear at the top of the table. After surviving the City comeback, next Sunday’s fixture at Norwich is now key to Liverpool’s hopes.
“They got back into the game, but I think we showed today that we want to go to the wire. We want to go all the way,” Gerrard said.
“That is such a big result for us. We’ve got four cup finals left. People said that was the biggest one [match], but I disagree. I think the biggest one now is Norwich. Nothing is ours yet.”
Rodgers feels his team deserve all the plaudits for the spirit they showed after throwing away a two-goal lead.
“I thought we were incredible today,” Rodgers said. “We showed so much quality. To come back showed the character in this group – it’s three very valuable points for us.
“We were well on top in the first half, but they’ve got top players and top players respond. They very quickly got themselves back into the game, but we changed the shape again and the goal came.
“So between us all – players, supporters and staff – it was a great victory for us.”
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini rued a sloppy ending in which his team missed several opportunities, while letting in Coutinho for what proved to be the winner.
“We had clear chances to score in the last 15 minutes, but we made a mistake,” Pellegrini said.
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