Liverpool took control of the Premier League title race with a thrilling 3-2 win over third-placed Manchester City at Anfield today.
In an emotional day at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers side once put pressure on the opposition early and the game was just six minutes old when Luis Suárez outmuscled Gaël Clichy and released Raheem Sterling, who passed the ball into an empty net after selling Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart and delightful dummy
City were wobbling and looked done for in the 26th minute when Martin Škrtel headed home from a Steven Gerrard’s corner in front of the Kop.
But credit to City, in that they did not give in, and the introduction of James Milner in the second half changed the game when David Silva deflected Milner’s cutback beyond Simon Mignolet. When Silva’s shot wad deflected into his own goal by Glen Johnson five minutes later it was Liverpool’s turn to wobble.
But the would be Champions got up off the table and went ahead with 12 minutes left in the game when a misplayed clearance by Vincent Kompany fell to Coutinho, who made no mistake from 16 yards out.
The only blotch on Liverpool’s day came when Jordan Henderson was given a straight red for a bad tackle on Samir Nasri in added time. Henderson will now miss Liverpool’s next three games.
Second-placed Chelsea responded to Liverpool’s result by beating ten-man Swansea 1-0. Demba Ba’s 68th-minute winner helped the Blues close back within two points of Liverpool ahead of the sides’ Anfield showdown in two weeks’ time.