Rodgers: That was a warning sign for us
Brendan Rodgers watched the results from a pair of Barclays Premier League fixtures in midweek and pocketed their relevance as an important warning sign for his table-topping Liverpool squad.
Fresh from suffering a 3-2 defeat by the Reds on Sunday, close rivals Manchester City were held to a surprising 2-2 draw by basement-dwellers Sunderland, who actually led with a matter of minutes left.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Stanley Park, Everton's impressive winning streak was brought to a shuddering halt as Roberto Martinez's side were overturned on home soil by Crystal Palace.
Therefore, as Rodgers' team prepare to take their 15-match unbeaten record to Norwich City - currently 17th in the division - the manager had a simple message to his players on Thursday morning.
He commented yesterday: "I said to the players before we started training this morning that if there was doubt about our rivals dropping points, then they should also take last night's results as a warning sign.
"It was a warning sign for everyone that, at this point of the season with four games to go, there is nothing guaranteed and I have said that all the way along.
"Crystal Palace had an excellent result and Sunderland were within minutes of getting a great victory. That was the biggest message I got from last night. Yes, one of our rivals might have dropped points but that is irrelevant."
Having dramatically downed City on Sunday, courtesy of a late strike by Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool maintained a two-point advantage over Chelsea at the Premier League summit with four matches remaining.
Keen to continue his mantra of navigating one fixture at a time, Rodgers stressed the level of competitiveness within the league, insisting that this weekend could be even more difficult because of Norwich's precarious position.
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"You have to do your own job," the Northern Irishman continued. "The warning signs are there. When you're so close to the finishing line you can maybe think that the job can be done and is done.
"Teams can look that they are playing teams towards the bottom of the league and that those games might be easy, but actually it's the contrast - they can be even more difficult.
"People are fighting for their livelihoods, fighting for their lives, fighting for their children, fighting for the supporters. And they're fighting to play in the best league in the world. That is the nuts and bolts of it.
"We have to stay calm and focus on what we want to achieve. Our determination is there, our fitness is there; you look at the intensity of the work of the team last week and it was phenomenal really.
"All the young players coped with the pressure and the older ones helped to get the team through. There certainly won't be complacency or nerves. There won't be pressure on us. It is the same demand as for every game - which is to play well and win."