Treat Norwich like best team in the world, says Gerrard

Steven Gerrard has urged Liverpool to treat Norwich City “like the best team in the world” when they meet in the Premier League on Sunday.

Liverpool sit two points clear of Chelsea at the top of the division, while Manchester City are a further five points behind – albeit with two games in hand – after their 3-2 defeat at Anfield on Sunday.

And, even though Norwich are in the thick of the battle for top-flight survival, captain Gerrard insists the match at Carrow Road must be seen as being as difficult as Liverpool’s famous 2005 UEFA Champions League final victory over Milan.

“Every game is getting bigger because we are getting closer to the last game of the season,” the 33-year-old is widely reported as saying in the British media.

“Man City was always going to be huge because they are in the race with us but Norwich now become Man City. Norwich become Chelsea. Norwich become Manchester United. That’s how big it is.

“We have got to treat Norwich like we treated AC Milan in 2005. That’s just how football is. We can’t think about what colour shirts Norwich are wearing and the personnel in them. We have got to treat them like the best team in the world.”

Liverpool are on a run of 10 consecutive league victories, but Gerrard has urged his team-mates against complacency as they target another four wins that would seal the club’s first top-flight crown since 1990.

“It is a remarkable run but you get nothing for it,” he added. “You get a pat on the back. We’ve all had them but they come and go. What is key as a footballer is getting something to show for all the hard work.

“We have been on a magnificent run. We could win 13 on the spin but lose the last one and we will get nothing. Nobody will remember it. The only way people will remember it is if we go on and win it.

“We have got to forget where we are and forget what we have done. We have just got to focus and prepare for Norwich now. We have got to treat it like it is the last game of all our careers. That is the mentality.”