It was Liverpool who took the initative after a disappointing European performance to claim victory against Manchester City thanks to two wonderful strikes, from Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho.
The Reds started well and had a goal disallowed early on as Adam Lallana flicked the ball up before volleying in, only to see that the flag was raised for offside. They didn't let that deter them however, as Coutinho seized possession from an unusually poor Vincent Kompany, before feeding Sterling. Sterling checked back and slid the ball across to Henderson who cut inside and curled an inch perfect finish past Joe Hart.
Liverpool could only hold their lead for just over 10 minutes, as poor defensive positioning allowed City to capitalise with a good passing move that led to Edin Dzeko firing past Simon Mignolet, leaving the half time score at 1-1.
It didn't deter Liverpool however, as they seized control of the game in the second half, outplaying their opponents in every department. It was another moment of magic that won the game, Philippe Coutinho's strike bent beautifully into Hart's far post, winning the game for Liverpool. For a more extensive report of the game, take a look at this from Charlie Malam. Here's five things we learned from the game.
1) Dejan Lovren was better. Not great, but better.
There were a few eyebrows raised when Dejan Lovren was selected in place of Kolo Toure for the injured Mamadou Sakho. Lovren has had, putting it kindly, a poor start to his Anfield career since a £20 milliom move from Southampton in the summer. This was made even worse as the Croatian missed the decisive penalty on Thursday to send the Reds out of the Europa League against Besiktas. However it was a marginally different story against City, as Lovren recovered from a shaky start to put in a solid 6/10 performance. It doesn't sound much to write about, but will go a long way to giving him some confidence as he looks to resurrect his Liverpool career. There were some shaky moments, but he made more total interceptions than the whole Manchester City side in the first half, and was there to clear a late City attack with a crucial header. Baby steps, but significant ones for Lovren.
2) Joe Allen was superb.
Often lamented as a figure who offers nothing to the team and is simply there to make up the numbers, Joe Allen put in one of his best performances in a Liverpool shirt against City. Acting in place of the injured Lucas Leiva, Allen teamed up efficently with Jordan Henderson to outclass the pairing of Yaya Toure and Fernandinho. Even when James Milner came on to help City out in midfield, Allen continued to dominate in a defensive role, allowing Henderson to press higher and support attacks. One of the main criticisms of Allen is that he tends to go for the safer option, passing backwards and sideways rather than looking to launch an attack. This couldn't have been further from the truth today, with 41 of his 57 passes moving forward. Brendan Rodgers described him post match as the 'Door that opens things up infront' and this was an excellent analagy, with Allen playing a key part in Liverpool's victory.
3) Rodgers got his tactics spot on.
I've already discussed the correct gamble of starting Dejan Lovren, but Brendan Rodgers also took the bold step of naming four strikers on the bench and using the attacking three of Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho that had served him so well during January's run. All three pressed Manchester City's defence brilliantly, with Sterling claiming two assists, Lallana having two goals ruled out and Coutinho grabbing a deserved matchwinner. Rodgers also made the right substitutions, bringing on Sturridge to keep the pressure on the visitors even after Liverpool had gone ahead, whilst bringing Kolo Toure on allowing Emre Can to move over to right wing back, the big German utilised to stop Alexsander Kolarov finding room to cross. It was important for Rodgers to have a good day personally after the disappointment of Thursday night, and he will certainly have done something to silence doubters by masterminding this win.
4) Coutinho did it again.
Bit by bit, Philippe Coutinho is becoming Liverpool's new matchwinner. In an absence of the glittering form we know Raheem Sterling can produce and with Daniel Sturridge still working his way back from injury, the tricky Brazilian just keeps pulling new tricks out of the bag to win games for Liverpool. Last week it was the screamer against Southampton early on, before that it had been a last gasp FA Cup strike against Bolton, another screamer from distance. Not only has he started scoring, his assists tally is picking up aswell with magical passes setting up Raheem Sterling for matchwinning goals against Burnley and West Ham in recent months. Against City he was a constant threat, twisting and turning every tackler that came into his path with ease. Just when it looked as if Liverpool's wave of attacks might not lead to a winner, he expertley dropped his shoulder on the left hand side and thumped home another winning goal. A bargain buy from Inter Milan at just £8.5 milliom, the 22 year old has no limits to what he can achieve.
5) This squad has character.
Despite their recent form, not many gave Liverpool much hope ahead of the game. Which was fair enough, Liverpool had the ready made excuses. They'd had only a day to prepare on the training ground after a long flight back from Turkey on Friday morning, had come off the back of extra time and penalties, not to mention a disappointing loss. They were playing last season's Champions, who came into the game after a thumping of Newcastle and a strong end to their Barcelona fixture, 48 hours before Liverpool's. But Liverpool's players didn't need excuses, they came out and made City look like the jetlagged team. From minute one to minute 90 they hassled and harried City when they were on the ball, and looked to immediately move up the pitch at a quick pace when they retrieved it. The side has put together this run, claiming 27 points in the league from their last possible 33, and will surely be confident of finishing in the top four places. Rodgers couldn't have spoke more highly of his side come his post match interview, saying "I have to take my hat off to the players, they were relentess today. They came back and slept all of Friday, and did some light work yesterday in preperation for the game. So to go out and give the performance that they did, was outstanding. We said when Coutinho signed his new contract he had to score more, now he's shooting like a proper Brazilian." Another thing to remember is that Liverpool won the game without Lucas or Sakho, two players that have been crucial to the recent upturn in form. Rarely a week goes by now without a photo of Liverpool's players diving on top of each other in celebration circuling the internet, and Liverpool fans will be hoping for similar ones come May.