West Ham 1 Liverpool 2: Steven Gerrard plays down title talk

Steven Gerrard moved to play down talk of Liverpool winning the Premier League after his two penalties fired the Reds to victory at West Ham United.

The England international put his team in front from the spot at Upton Park in the 44th minute after James Tomkins handled in the box.

We want this really bad and we showed that in the second half

Steven Gerrard

But Guy Demel tapped home from close range to equalise just before half-time as Liverpool appealed that Andy Carroll had fouled goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in the build-up.

Former Liverpool striker Carroll then hit the crossbar with a second-half header, before Gerrard struck another penalty in the 71st minute after Adrian brought down Jon Flanagan.

However, despite helping Liverpool move back above Chelsea to the top of the table and two points clear of Chelsea with five games to go, Gerrard urged the Reds to keep their feet on the ground.

“I’m not convinced that we will win the league yet,” said Gerrard. “We have five games left and they are all huge. If we beat Man City next week then all that will give us is three more points.”

The 33-year-old continued: “Each side is asking us different questions. They were very direct. It was a tough game, a tough 90 minutes but there was great resolve and character from the squad.

“The manager said at half-time that we can’t change what happened [regarding West Ham’s goal]. They all even themselves out over the season and that one went against us. You can see it’s clearly a foul. That’s what the linesman flagged for but the referee overruled him.

“It was a huge setback for us but we were determined. We want this really bad and we showed that in the second half.”