Six minutes into the maelstrom of a top-of-the-table encounter against Manchester City, Raheem Sterling was placed into a scenario that the Liverpool forward has been practising regularly in training.

A precise through ball by Luis Suarez has dissected the away defence and married perfectly with the 19-year-old's run; however, the right choice to produce a goal must be made in a matter of seconds.

Sterling has options for a pass, but instead takes a solo route. He threatens to shimmy to the left, but actually glides to the right, fooling Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart, who leave a gaping net for the Englishman to hit.

The jaws of fans and pundits packed into Anfield hit the floor, entranced by the stillness and composure of the Reds' No.31 to find the most suitable path to goal in the blink of an eye.

"I've been working day in, day out on my finishing, and when I get in the box to take my time and make the right decision," Sterling explained to Liverpoolfc.com after the final whistle.

"Luckily today, I made the right decision to go on by myself and take the shot. I'm really grateful that the team won again. We were shooting towards the Kop and from the off, you could tell the fans were straight behind us.

"It was a good feeling. In the goalscoring opportunity, I just had to take my time and be composed to finish it off. I was delighted to get the team 1-0 up. It was a great win by the boys."

Sterling's deadlock-breaker was followed by a thunderous near-post header from Martin Skrtel as Brendan Rodgers' side dismantled City during the opening half-hour.

The travellers responded strongly, registering through David Silva and then securing an equaliser as the Spaniard forced beyond Simon Mignolet with considerable help from a deflection off Glen Johnson.

But the final act fell to Philippe Coutinho, who scooped up loose possession in the opposition area and cracked a whistling effort wide of Hart's left hand to secure three more crucial points.

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Sterling reflected: "It's a good feeling to beat Manchester City at home in a big match. The boys did really well, everyone worked their socks off for each other. It's a really good win again.

"It was a great atmosphere, the fans were really great today. To get the three points against Manchester City is a great achievement by the boys. I thought everyone worked really hard for each other. It was good to get the three points."

As in recent home fixtures against Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur, the Liverpool players were bellowed into the ground pre-match by supporters who lined Anfield Road with flags, banners and noise.

Once again, the gesture resonated among the squad, who watched on from their coach with fascination, then took serious inspiration from what they had witnessed when the contest kicked off.

"Coming in on the coach and seeing the fans out there singing was great - I've never seen anything like it," said Sterling.

"The Sunderland game was really good, but there were triple the supporters out there [on Sunday]. It was a great feeling. It was a great atmosphere today and I'm happy to be part of this football club."

While the day had begun with a rallying cry from the club's fans, it was the captain who bookended the encounter with a passionate speech of his own when the victory had been ensured.

Steven Gerrard brought together the players under his command and insisted that concentration is of utmost importance as the Reds prepare for four more fixtures in this remarkable campaign.

Sterling explained: "He just said that it was a great win for us and a great team effort. He said that we don't just stop here - we go again against Norwich next week.

"It was another tremendous captain's performance from him, to regroup the boys and tell us it's not over just because of today's game, and to go again next week - credit to him."