Ten wins out of ten for Liverpool, and even if it wasn’t a ten out of ten performance today, all associated with the club won’t care. A 3-2 win against Manchester City leaves them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Steven Gerrard was close to tears after the final whistle, the Liverpool captain debriefing his side in front of an ecstatic Kop. There is no player who deserves a league title more, but for vast swathes of the game today Manchester City looked like they might take the driving seat in the race for Premier League glory.

Liverpool started the brighter, with Raheem Sterling bamboozling Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart in the box before coolly converting in the sixth minute. Manchester City’s cause wasn’t helped by the loss of Yaya Toure with less than a quarter of the game gone. A knee injury led to him being replaced by Javi Garcia, with Fernandinho taking the Ivorian’s position as the most advanced central midfielder.

Garcia simply doesn’t have the mobility of Toure or Fernandinho, and throughout the rest of the first half Liverpool ran at City again and again. Minutes after Toure went off Martin Skrtel doubled the home side’s advantage with a header from a Steven Gerrard corner and it looked like Liverpool  could do to City what they have done to many teams at Anfield this season and run riot. Pellegrini’s men were thankful for the half-time whistle.

The second half seemed to be from a different game entirely. City began to dominate the midfield exchanges, with David Silva in particular a constant threat. It was he who made the breakthrough, prodding home in the 57th minute from a James Milner cross. Milner had come on for Jesus Navas and offered a little more physicality as City pressed for an equaliser. It was Silva again however who created the second goal for his side, when neat link-up play with Samir Nasri allowed him the space to get a shot off on goal. Glen Johnson’s attempt to block only served to divert the ball beyond Simon Mignolet.

The Kop was quieter now, and with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge not really able to make an impact on the game Manchester City looked the more likely to take the three points. Suarez in particular would have concerned Brendan Rodgers, as the Uruguayan was booked very early on and was involved in a few incidents throughout the game. He may have cut down on his diving antics for the most part but on one or two occasions today he was fortunate that Mark Clattenburg did not brandish a second yellow.

Liverpool did what title contenders must however, and scored against the run of play. Much of the credit will have to go to a player who will want none. City captain Vincent Kompany snatched at a clearance in the box and only found the onrushing Coutinho. The Brazilian still had much to do with the ball slightly behind him but the number 10 finished with aplomb.

In the closing stages Pellegrini pushed Garcia forward as City pressed for another equalizer, but even a Jordan Henderson sending off for a rash challenge late on was enough to derail Liverpool. On a day of remembrance for the 96 souls lost in the Hillsborough tragedy, Liverpool have given themselves the opportunity to make the perfect tribute 25 years on.

Chelsea still have to come to Anfield in a few weeks time, and there are enough games left for there to be twists and turns in the title race yet. Brendan Rodgers may play down the significance of today’s win, but with each victory the expectation grows on Merseyside. How Liverpool deal with the pressure will determine whether or not they lift the Premier League trophy on May 11th.