Liverpool have held on to take a 3-2 win over Manchester City in the Premier League this afternoon, despite finishing the match with 10 men.
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The home side took an early lead when Luis Suarez played the ball through for Raheem Sterling, who rounded Vincent Kompany before curling his shot past Joe Hart.
There was more bad news for manager Manuel Pellegrini in the opening 20 minutes when top scorer Yaya Toure was forced off with what appeared to be a groin injury.
Steven Gerrard came close to doubling the lead when he was left unmarked in the box, giving him a free header, but Hart was able to deny the Liverpool captain.
However, the England international was able to set Martin Skrtel up for their second from the resulting corner.
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City began to find their way into the match before half time, as Edin Dzeko drilled the ball just wide before appealing for a penalty after being brought down by Mamadou Sakho.
Simon Mignolet had to remain sharp in the closing moments of the first 45 minutes as Fernandinho and David Silva both tried to get one back for the visitors, but the keeper kept their efforts out.
City continued to get stronger after the break and had the ball in the back of the net just over 10 minutes after the restart, but Silva's finish was ruled out for offside.
However, he did manage to pull one back just moments later, tapping in from close range from a James Milner delivery.
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The resurgent visitors almost had another just four minutes later as Silva crossed the ball in for Dzeko, but he just missed the target.
Their pressure paid off, though, as a low Silva cross into the box left Liverpool scrambling as they tried to clear the ball, resulting in Glen Johnson turning it past his own keeper.
Liverpool had to defend hard as City tried to edge ahead for the first time, having brought Sergio Aguero off the bench, but the Argentine's cross in to Silva failed to produce a goal.
The miss proved costly as the hosts immediately went on the counter-attack, regaining the lead when Philippe Coutinho fired the ball into the bottom corner after Kompany failed the clear.
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City had the majority of the possession in the final five minutes as they pushed for another equaliser, but the hosts got numbers back to prevent them getting a clear sight of the goal.
The visitors had a corner in stoppage time, but Mignolet claimed it to clear the danger and seal the win for Liverpool.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men for the final two minutes of injury time when Jordan Henderson was shown a straight red for a high challenge on Silva.
The result leaves Liverpool five points clear at the top of the table, while City remain third.
Sian Cowper
