A 3-2 win at Carrow Road yesterday saw Liverpool widen the gap at the top of the table to five points. A brace from Raheem Sterling sandwiched Luis Suarez’s 30th goal of the season to hand the Merseysiders their eleventh win in a row and ensure they’re in tip-top shape for next weekends crunch clash with Chelsea.
The win sealed the Reds return to the Champions League next season with Brendan Rodgers side now able to finish no lower than third. Although the main objective for the season was securing a return to the continent, the Anfield outfit have popped up as the surprise package in the title race and, with three matches left, look well placed to claim their first crown of the Premier League era. Despite being handed a comfortable cushion following yesterday’s win, Suarez isn’t about to start passing out the cigars and cracking the champagne quite yet.
“We are happy because we got three points, which are very important for us,” the Uruguayan, who became the first Reds striker to score 30 goals in a season since Ian Rush accomplished the feat in 1987, told Sky Sports after the match. “We worked really hard today. Playing against Norwich is very difficult as they are fighting against relegation. In football you never know what is going to happen. I think we have to keep calm and focus on the next game against Chelsea. It is important.”
Should the Reds down Jose Mourinho’s side next Sunday, they’ll almost certainly go on to claim their first title in 24-years — something few would have predicted at the start of the season. “At the start of the season we targeted finishing in the top four and now I think it is done” continued Suarez with an obvious sense of pride in his voice. Still, nothing has been won yet quite yet and the 27-year old’s insistence that the next match is all that matters at this point is a sentiment that’s been echoed throughout the squad.
A lack of Champions League football was a major sticking in point for the Uruguayan during the off-season, but after signing a new contract, the striker will be happy he stuck around with both a return to Europe’s most prestigious cup competition secured, and possibly a Premier League title to boot.
