Brendan Rodgers revels in Sterling Reds

LONDON

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admitted that Norwich City had given his team a scare, but was delighted with the way they held their nerve to take a five-point lead on top of the Premier League with a 3-2 win at Carrow Road on Sunday.

Two goals from Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez with his habitual strike against the Canaries proved enough to hold off the relegation battlers, who made Liverpool sweat with second-half goals from Gary Hooper and Robert Snodgrass.

“It was a brilliant win for us, that,” Rodgers told a news conference after the game. “It was a great game tactically. The first 15-20 minutes we showed great quality and we were nerveless.

“They changed their shape and they got a goal and it gave them and the crowd a bit of momentum. In the second half we had to show our resilience.”

The win allowed Liverpool to capitalise on Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Sunderland on Saturday evening, and Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with the same opponents last week. City play West Brom on Monday, and have to win to keep their hopes of a second title alive.

Rodgers, while trying his best to sidestep too much title talk, celebrated his team meeting a key objective. “We can finish no lower than third, which guarantees Champions League football,” he said. “We’ve cemented our first objective which everyone would have taken.”

BEST YOUNG PLAYER

Two-goal Sterling received lavish praise from his manager. “He’s arguably the best young player in European football at the moment,” said Rodgers. “I have been really, really pleased with his maturity. He’s a really humble kid, he’s got that inbuilt brain and belief. His first goal was fantastic.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal welcomed Mesut Ozil back from a hamstring injury and he played a part in the 31st-minute move that led to Aaron Ramsey drilling the visitors in front. In response, Hull midfielder Jake Livermore drove a low shot against the post, only for Lukas Podolski to emphatically volley home Arsenal’s second goal just before half-time from Ramsey’s chested lay-off.

Podolski claimed his second goal in the 54th minute, tucking away the rebound after Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor had blocked from the irrepressible Ramsey.

“We kept a clean sheet and we scored three goals, and overall I believe the performance was good,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The victory provisionally put Arsenal four points clear of fifth-place Everton, but Roberto Martinez’s side trimmed their lead back to a point with a clinical 2-0 defeat of Manchester United.

Leighton Baines put Everton ahead from the penalty spot in the 28th minute and Kevin Mirallas added a second before half-time.