• Premier League

Rodgers changes tune on Liverpool's title prospects

Brendan Rodgers has changed his tune on Liverpool's title aspirations after their dramatic 3-2 win at Fulham, insisting the club can win their first league crown in 24 years.

Liverpool moved within four points of the top following their victory at Craven Cottage, as they twice came from behind before Steven Gerrard scored an injury-time penalty, with his manager later describing him as "peerless".

The win saw Liverpool remain favourites for the fourth Champions League place, staying three points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham and extending their lead over Manchester United to 11 points following their goalless draw at Arsenal.

Following Chelsea's slip up at West Brom on Tuesday, Liverpool also gained ground on Manchester City, who's game with Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium was called off.

Having previously downplayed Liverpool's credibility as title contenders so far this season, Rodgers now believes his side can close in on the trio of clubs above them.

"We're going to keep pushing," said Rodgers. "We've shown enough times we're a very good side. We're chasing and there are other teams still ahead of us, so we'll need some of them to drop points, but we know we still have City and Chelsea to play at home.

"This was a very important win for us, coming after the game at the weekend when we'd been outstanding [in beating Arsenal 5-1]. We had to show different qualities tonight: character, togetherness as a group, as we kept pushing to the end.

"We've defended poorly at times this season, mistakes and individual errors that have cost us, but we're a very aggressive and offensive team going forward and we showed that again. There's still a long way to go, 12 games, but you've seen the development of the team in terms of character and focus out there. We had to dig deep. There's great character there and the belief in what we're doing is very high."

After Jose Mourinho had last week described Chelsea as the "little horse" at the top of the table compared to City, Rodgers responded to the metaphor by claiming his Liverpool side were the "Chihuahuas" running between the horses' legs.

"I don't do all that horse stuff," Rodgers added. "Jose is very good at all that sort of stuff. We may be the Chihuahuas that run in between the horses' legs. But we're just about improving with each match."

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