Vincent Kompany "loved" Luis Suarez battle

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has said that yesterday's victory over Liverpool was their hardest match of the Premier League campaign.

Manuel Pellegrini's men pulled to within one point of top spot after the Belgian centre-back and Alvaro Negredo scored to cancel out Philippe Coutinho's 24th-minute opener at the Etihad Stadium.

Kompany paid homage to Brendan Rodgers's side, while also stating that he thrived on the challenge of playing against Reds frontman Luis Suarez, who tops the league's scoring charts with 19 goals.

"The three points are massive, that's the hardest game so far," the 27-year-old told BT Sport. "Liverpool are a good team so it's great for us.

"I loved every single minute [playing against Suarez], I live for those games. After the game we had a handshake. He appreciates the battle, I appreciate the battle. We won but it was a tough game."

City play host to Crystal Palace on Saturday.