Champions League Update: Liverpool Sealed the Fate of Manchester City
Liverpool pushed their dream further in the Premier League after defeating Manchester City on Sunday at Anfield to reach the semifinal.
Liverpool was at their best to clinch the crucial victory leading their way to secure the semifinal spot.
The hosts were all in the winning spree as they dominated the first half of the match, leading by 2-0. However, Manchester was looking destined to turn the tide in their favour when a goal from David Silva and self-foal from Glen Johnson led to an equaliser. The last stunner from Philippe Coutinho finally sealed the fate of the visitor.
Liverpool was all charged up as Captain Steven Gerrard held the helm with utmost confidence. The squad was dominating right from the first point. Raheem Sterling gave the host a lead at 6 minutes with a superb goal, surpassing Manchester's defence.
The second goal came at 26 minutes as Martin Škrtel placed a header from a corner kick of Gerrard.
Liverpool was cruising along the way, defending Manchester from every angle. At 34 minutes, Manchester looked to have deprived from a penalty kick by the referee when a bad tackle to Edin Džeko was left ignored, leaving fuming Manchester fans.
The third goal came at 57 minutes when David Silva placed a superb knock to bring back luck to the team.
At 62 minutes, a same-side goal from Glen Johnson equalised the match at 2-2.
Manchester looked to be all back in the fighting spree as they had decided to keep on fighting till the end to avoid humiliation.
But fate seemed to be with Liverpool when at 78 minutes Philippe Coutinho placed the final goal of the match, pushing the team to victory with 3-2.
One major setback for Liverpool as midfielder Jordan Henderson was shown the red card just prior to the end of the match which will set him away from the upcoming decisive matches.
This is the 10th straight victory for Liverpool, gathering 77 points to dominate at the peak of the chart.
Liverpool Manager Brendan Rogers praised the team for their valiant effort.
"We totally controlled the game. At halftime we were 2-0 up and it could have been more ... Congratulations to Man City because at 2-0 down we were incredible in the first half. You expect a 15-20 minute spell in which they get back into the game ...They showed the character in this group ... to come back and get composure again and score a brilliant goal and get three very valuable points," Rogers added.