Liverpool on Wednesday maintained its Premier League title fight, holding on for a 2-1 win in a scrappy game at home to Sunderland. Steven Gerrard’s free kick put the home team in thelead shortly before halftime, while a deflected Daniel Sturridge effort doubled the lead shortly after the break. Twelve minutes from time, Sunderland’s Ki Sung-yeung headed homean Adam Johnson corner to set up a nervy finale for the host, but Liverpool managed to grind out the three points, nonetheless. The Reds are now second Premier League standings, just one pointbehind league leader Chelsea.
After the game, coach Brendan Rodgers said he was proud of the way his team managed to win despite not playing as well as it could. “I think people lookedat us and thought we would tail off,” he said, adding that the pressure would be on Manchester City and Chelsea during the final seven games of the season. “For us there is not the expectancy thisyear when you look at City, the squad they have and the money they’ve spent and Chelsea as well as they have been dominant over a number of years,” he said. “The pressure will be there butthe pressure is for ourselves. We are Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world. We want to represent the club and be winners and we are on that path.”