Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard relieved to end top-five hoodoo

Steven Gerrard admits Liverpool were relieved to end their hoodoo against top-five sides this season by beating Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday.

The 32-year-old’s 81st-minute penalty helped secure a 3-2 victory over Spurs after Jan Vertonghen’s double had put the visitors ahead with 35 minutes remaining.

Liverpool had failed to beat any of their top-half rivals this season despite being in winning positions in 2-2 draws with Arsenal and Manchester City in January.

“It’s a big win for us. With our performances against the top sides this season I think we’ve been very unlucky not to get a win,” said Gerrard.

“It’s been too long so there’s a bit of relief really that we have proved we can beat one of the top sides in the league.

“I think on current form, along with ourselves, Tottenham are probably the best team in the league.”

Liverpool’s slender Champions League hopes were kept alive by victory over Spurs, but Gerrard says the immediate objective is to finish above Everton.

“When we went out of the Europa League the message from the manager was that we needed to try to win as many of our remaining games as possible.

“Our form is good but we can’t afford to get carried away just because we’ve beaten Tottenham. We need to show what we’ve shown in all of our remaining games. We want to finish above Everton and as high as we can in the league.”