Five key elements of classic City victory
Liverpool hauled themselves to a dramatic 3-2 victory over Manchester City in a match that condensed the most appealing qualities of the Barclays Premier League into 90 hectic minutes – but what were the keys to the triumph?
A 10th consecutive win in the division, which consolidated the Reds' position at the summit, was secured through an outstanding late finish by Philippe Coutinho and capped an emotional day at Anfield.
Before kick-off, all those in attendance had paused to remember the 96 fans who lost their lives at Hillsborough with a minute's silence, ahead of the 25th anniversary memorial service on Tuesday, April 15.
Roared on by the noise of the fans and the poignancy of the occasion, Brendan Rodgers' team launched into their opponents, racking up a quick-fire lead through Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel.
The natural strength of City was borne out in the second half, however, with David Silva evolving into a central actor in the story - the Spaniard danced into the box and finished to reduce the arrears and then forced an own goal via a Glen Johnson deflection.
But when a loose ball arrived at the feet of Coutinho with 12 minutes remaining, and Kopites dared to dream of what could occur, the Brazilian perfectly planted a sublime effort searing past the outstretched arm of Joe Hart and into the bottom corner.
What were the fundamental factors behind the Reds' performance? We have selected five important elements of the result and would love to hear your own opinion in the comments section below.
Composure beyond Sterling's years
With a mere six minutes played and the home side keen to unleash a start to rival those witnessed against Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur in L4 earlier this season, Luis Suarez spotted and carefully executed the potential for a cutting through ball. Finding the gap between two opposition defenders, the Uruguayan's pass married with a lung-busting sprint in behind by Sterling - a ploy that Rodgers was aiming for when positioning the 19-year-old at the apex of a midfield diamond. As the Kop rose in anticipation, there were numerous options for the forward to choose from; he selected one that nobody else had foreseen but, crucially, it was the right one. "I've been working day in, day out on my finishing, and when I get in the box to take my time and make the right decision," he reflected post-match. He certainly did that - a controlled touch and lightning-fast move to the right inside the penalty box fooled the City defence and left the No.31 with a gaping net to power a shot into and kick-start the Reds once more.
Simon Mignolet shows his reflexes
Although the hosts quickly followed Sterling's opener with a second strike, delivered by the head of defender Skrtel, Manuel Pellegrini's charges were not dormant for long. The double sucker-punch achieved by City when Silva grabbed the encounter and drove his team forward was precipitated by several close calls before the break. The agility of Sterling and Johnson was required to keep the ball out of Liverpool's Anfield Road End net in the final seconds of the opening period; equally impressive, though, was the speed with which the Reds' Belgian goalkeeper sprawled low to his right and hammered away a thunderous, bouncing half-volley by Fernandinho. The 26-year-old is now approaching the landmark of a century of saves in the Premier League in his debut season on Merseyside, having reached 97 stops for the campaign on Sunday.
Rodgers' response to City leveller
Throughout his team's incredible 10-match victorious streak, Rodgers has repeatedly fine-tuned his system and personnel to maximise and 'rinse' the potential of his players. It was evident at West Ham United - when the Northern Irishman made a half-time substitution and changed formation - and in his willingness to fluctuate between 4-3-3 and a diamond set-up during the preceding weeks. The boss' intuition paid dividends again against City, with his response to the visitors' equaliser stemming their flow and building a platform for snatching back dominance. "When it got to 2-2, they started to have a bit of energy and a bit of joy down the sides," he explained after the final whistle. "So we changed - we went from a diamond to 4-3-3 to open up the game a little bit, but also to protect the sides whenever we were defending. That allowed us to get some sort of control back into the game and we end up getting the winning goal with a great finish. So it showed our resilience to see it through."
The ubiquity of Liverpool's No.10
The Opta graphic below - which details Coutinho's successful passes at Anfield - perhaps renders further discussion of the Brazilian's display on Sunday as unnecessary. A glance at the chalkboard tells you everything you need to know; simply that the 21-year-old was everywhere in the battle with the Manchester club. Kopites were immediately enamoured by the midfielder's inherent vision and flawless passing after his January 2013 switch from Inter Milan. But this season, the No.10 has evolved into an all-action hybrid, a player equally comfortable in creation mood as in destruction. Coutinho touched the ball 71 times, more than any of his midfield colleagues, but the more interesting statistic is the one which shows that he attempted half-a-dozen tackles and won all but one. That 78th-minute deciding effort was the icing on a truly monumental performance.
The sheer presence of Steven Gerrard
"I feel 21 again, playing with all these top players," the captain commented after coolly guiding his younger colleagues to yet another three points. "It's probably going to be the biggest month of my career coming up now. I'll give it everything I've got." That sentiment goes without saying, particularly following the No.8's latest contribution, which may not have been registered merely through goals or assists, but was bordering on emotional in its unflinching intensity to taste victory. When the final whistle called time on proceedings and that believing roar reverberated around Anfield, the skipper was visibly overcome by what had occurred. But Gerrard's enjoyment was selflessly thrust to one side for more important business - the Englishman gathered together his teammates and passionately instilled a message to their collective psyche: "This is gone - do not let this slip. We go again at Norwich and do exactly the same."