EPL: Anfield can dream

It was the perfect weekend for Liverpool.

With none of their rivals winning their respective matches, the Reds trounced Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 yesterday morning (Singapore time) to seize the initiative in the title race.

Top Team: Liverpool

Top of the English Premier League with just six games remaining, Liverpool fans can finally accept that the league crown is now theirs to lose.

Liverpool's fate is now in their own hands: Win all their games and they will land the league crown that has eluded them for 24 years. Perhaps for the first time in this season's race, the pressure has turned on the Reds.

But there was plenty from their 4-0 win over Spurs to draw comfort from.

Steven Gerrard and gang put in a display that was so polished that it bordered on casual.

Manager Brendan Rodgers deployed an adventurous line-up comprising three men up front - Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling.

With Gerrard pulling the strings from a deep position, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho seized control of the midfield to leave Spurs to feed on scraps.

Liverpool strolled to their eighth win on the spin at a canter. Now, it's all about whether they can handle life at the top.

Top Defender: Alexander Buttner (Man United)

Smiles are hard to come by at Old Trafford these days, but United gave their fans a lot to cheer about on Saturday.

The 4-1 comeback win over Aston Villa was just the boost they needed ahead of tomorrow morning's (Singapore time) Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.

Left back Buttner, in particular, put in an accomplished performance to give rise to hope that maybe, just maybe, he can be counted on to cope with Arjen Robben. Robben, by the way, plays for Bayern, not Villa.

Top Attacker: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

On the back of this excellent display, you realise why Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is wishing that he has Sterling in his team.

The 19-year-old, who started Liverpool's last two games on the bench, tormented Spurs right from the start in his role as right forward.

He ran Spurs' defenders ragged, spraying useful passes from the flank and even helped out in defence.

The pocket-sized player made way for Victor Moses in the 83rd minute, to a deserved standing ovation from the appreciative Anfield crowd.

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