Steven Gerrard insists he wants to beat Chelsea - even though victory could hand Manchester United the title.
Many Kopites would accept losing to Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday if it meant denying their hated rivals the Premier League crown.
United will move clear of Liverpool's tally of 18 titles if they triumph this season and this would be too much for Reds' fans to take.
Gerrard is well aware of the supporters' fears, but says the players are focused on beating Chelsea and Hull in their last two games to boost their faint Champions League hopes.
"We've got a couple of games left now and the idea is to take maximum points to see if we can get into fourth through the back door," said the Reds skipper.
"If we take maximum points, who knows? The teams above us might slip up. All we have done is keep the pressure on those above us."
Gerrard, 29, claims Liverpool can only think about themselves and his big worry is that Everton might finish above them.
Rafa Benitez's side need just one more point to banish that spectre and for Gerrard that would be the final indignity of their hugely-disappointing season.
"We are underdogs for fourth position, but our fans know that we have also got Everton breathing down our necks and we certainly don't want them finishing above us," said the midfielder.
Liverpool's 4-0 win at Burnley was their first league away win this year - and Gerrard knows that is unacceptable for a club like Liverpool.
Gerrard, who scored twice in an outstanding performance at Turf Moor, was heartened by the Reds' improved display against the Clarets even if it may have come too late to affect the race for fourth.
"We won't give up, but it would be stupid of me to say this or that is going to happen. It's important to be realistic," said the England star.
"We haven't been good enough away. When you can't score and you lose your top striker, it can damage belief and affect your confidence, but this was much better."
The win was the ideal boost for Liverpool as they attempt to overturn their 1-0 deficit in Thursday's Europa League showdown with Atletico Madrid at Anfield.
Gerrard is bullish about Liverpool's prospects, despite missing top scorer Fernando Torres.
"We've won games like this before and we hope we can do it again," he said. "We're going to put everything into that game and Thursday can't come quickly enough."
0 Comments:
Post a Comment