Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City

Liverpool took a huge step
towards their Premier
League title dream with a
3-2 victory over
Manchester City on an
emotional day at Anfield.
Philippe Coutinho's late strike took Brendan
Rodgers' side seven points clear of the visitors,
who had hit back to level things up at 2-2 after
falling two goals behind in the first half.
The hosts looked to be easing to a 10th
consecutive Premier League triumph on Sunday
after goals from Raheem Sterling and Martin
Skrtel capped a dominant first-half showing.
With City having been robbed of the Yaya Toure's
services in between those two strikes due to
injury, Manuel Pellegrini's woes were mounting.
But David Silva turned the game on its head with
a goal early in the second half before the
Spaniard's effort was deflected in by a
combination of Glen Johnson and Simon Mignolet
to equalise.
However, there was time for one last twist in the
tale - and one that could ultimately end
Liverpool's 24-year wait to be crowned
champions of England - as Coutinho pounced on
Vincent Kompany's woeful clearance to fire in a
dramatic 78th-minute winner.
Jordan Henderson's late dismissal mattered little
in the context of the game as the result ensured
that the destination of the top-flight crown now
rests exclusively in Liverpool's hands.
Anfield fell silent before the game to remember
the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives at
Hillsborough 25 years ago, with supporters of
both clubs paying their respects.
Liverpool, unchanged from last Sunday's 2-1 win
over West Ham, set a high tempo from the start
and deservedly took the lead inside six minutes.
Luis Suarez split the City defence with a pass
that picked out Sterling , who deceived Kompany
- named in the starting line-up despite struggling
with a knee injury - and Joe Hart with some
excellent footwork before firing home Liverpool's
100th goal in all competitions this season.
Sterling then provided a superb right-wing
delivery for Daniel Sturridge in the 14th minute
but the England striker's close-range effort
sailed wide of the far post.
City's hopes suffered another blow when Toure
pulled up injured three minutes later, having
appeared to twist his knee with an earlier off-
target shot.
His replacement Javi Garcia was booked for his
first tackle on Henderson as the visitors
struggled to get to grips with the game.
Hart came to City's rescue with a stunning one-
handed save to keep out Steven Gerrard's
header, but the Liverpool captain's delivery from
the subsequent corner was nodded in by Skrtel
after 26 minutes.
A rare City attack saw Edin Dzeko denied by
Gerrard's well-timed block before a rash
Mamadou Sakho challenge sent the Bosnian
tumbling in the box, only for referee Mark
Clattenburg to wave away the visitors' half-
hearted penalty appeals.
The home side survived a couple of late first-half
scares as Mignolet produced a full-stretch save
from Fernandinho's off-balance volley, the
goalkeeper atoning for his error of judgement at
a corner in the previous minute, which forced
Sterling and Johnson to scramble off the line.
Silva did reduce the arrears 12 minutes after
the break with a tap-in from substitute James
Milner's cross and the Spaniard's delivery was
almost turned in by Dzeko two minutes later as
City cranked up the pressure.
And the leveller arrived just past the hour mark
after Samir Nasri slid in Silva, whose shot across
the face of goal took a deflection off Johnson
and wrong-footed Mignolet.
But Liverpool had the final say, Coutinho
curling home on the turn from inside the box
after Kompany's limp attempt at a clearance.
Henderson was sent off in stoppage time for a
wild challenge on Nasri but the title is now
Liverpool's to lose.