MY ACCOUNT
Jordan Henderson joked that he is ready to put a call in to Steven Gerrard as Liverpool eye a favour from Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season.
After coming from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in their penultimate fixture of the campaign, Jurgen Klopp’s side remain in with a shout of clinching the title on Sunday.
But, for that to happen, they must first win their Anfield clash with Wolves and then hope that Manchester City drop points at home to Villa.
Pep Guardiola’s men came out on top in a similarly tight race in 2018-19, and Henderson says he is ready to call on his former Anfield teammate Steven Gerrard – now the manager of Villa – as he looks for a different outcome.
He told Sky Sports: “It’s hard. We’ve had this before when they played Brighton [and went 1-0 down] and the crowd cheer and you know what’s going on and it’s hard to focus on the game.
“Hopefully that experience, we’ve learned from it and we can just concentrate on the game and what we need to do.
“Hopefully, Stevie and Villa can do us a favour at City. I might give him a call now, actually!”
That Liverpool have been able to take the title race to the last day owes much to the efforts of the heavily rotated team that clinched victory at St Mary’s on Southampton.
Takumi Minamino was among nine alterations to the line-up, and scored just as he had done on his last Premier League start – a whopping 514 days ago.
That ability to come in from the cold and contribute pleased Henderson, who remarked: “I feel like we’ve done that really well all season.
“The lads who might not have played as much as they would have liked, they’ve got to come in and show what they’re all about.
“I felt as though all the lads did that tonight, took the opportunity, and in a Premier League season you need absolutely everyone.”
James Milner echoed his captain’s sentiments in urging Liverpool to simply focus on what they can control on the final day of the season.
However, he also insisted that Klopp’s men have done themselves proud in pushing City so close regardless of Sunday’s outcome.
He said: “Try and win our game, that’s all we can do, and that’s all we’ve been trying to do since we sort of had a reset in January.
“We were so far behind and we went for it, had a mental reset, and since then we’ve really pushed.
“They’re an incredible team to go up against and, whatever happens this season, I think we’ve done ourselves proud.
“But you’re coming up against a top team like Manchester City so all we can do is try and win our games and try and keep the pressure on right until the end.
“All we could do is take it to the last game.”
