REDS BACK ON TOP IN TIT-FOR-TAT TITLE RACE

Liverpool crack Cardiff after Morrison’s double shocker

LIVERPOOL looked into the bright Easter sun and did not blink. If Manchester City are to win the Premier League title, they will have to do it on the back of their own sustained excellence.

That City will defend their title still looks likely. If anybody expects Manchester United to do Liverpool a favour when they host City on Wednesday, then they clearly have not seen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team play.

So for Liverpool there may still be disappointment ahead and what deep disappointment that would be.

To recap, Jurgen Klopp’s team now have 88 points with three games to go and have lost only once. It is the club’s highest Premier League total.

Yet they remain second favourites to cross the line first. If Liverpool really are going to lose out to the sheer monotony of City’s brilliance then they may as well do it like this: on the front foot, creating chances, scoring goals, winning matches.

This was not Liverpool at their best against a Cardiff side that played with spirit and courage.

It is hard to play at your very top level at this stage of the season. City themselves are an example of that right now too.

It is at this time of year, with dozens of games behind you and the pitches hardening, that the demands of the modern English game really begin to be felt.

But the Liverpool team built and driven on by Klopp have so much quality and such strong nerve that it continues to get them through.

That is what happened as they ground down Cardiff and finally put them away with second-half goals from Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner’s penalty.

Cardiff captain Sean Morrison also played a part in the outcome and that was a shame. But let us be clear about what he did.

Shortly after Wijnaldum’s goal — a superb strike from a wellworked Liverpool corner — Morrison missed a golden chance to equalise, somehow fluffing a header from three yards. There was no debate to be had about that. It was just a bad miss and he couldn’t even blame the sun. It was behind him.

But with 10 minutes left, Morrison wrestled Mo Salah to the ground to concede a penalty that made Liverpool’s final moments more comfortable than they may have been.

This, predictably, was when all the hooting and hollering started.

Salah was booed by the crowd while Cardiff manager Neil Warnock clutched his head in his hands in that weird way of his.

Think of a man locked out of his own house and you pretty much have it. But it was a clear penalty. Plain and simple.

Such was the length of Morrison’s embrace from behind that all that was missing was a kiss on Salah’s cheek for Easter.

Morrison held on clearly in at least two different positions and, just for good measure, held on plenty long enough for referee Martin Atkinson to notice.

Atkinson, who had to put up with Warnock’s gesturing and moaning all afternoon, was wellpositioned and did not hesitate in making his decision.

Milner, on as a substitute, buried the penalty low to Neil Etheridge’s left.

If that goal gave the game a clear talking point, Wijnaldum’s goal almost 25 minutes earlier was memorable for different reasons.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low corner from the right looked as though it may have been scuffed but that was deceptive.

It was deliberate and after Wijnaldum moved away from his marker on the penalty spot, he met the ball first time with his right instep and it flew past Etheridge liked a missile.

Seven minutes after that Morrison erred. How he failed to nod in a corner from the right when totally unmarked maybe even he will not know.

The ball actually landed on his neck as he dived forwards and ended up behind him. It was a trick he could not have pulled off again had he tried.

An equalising goal at that stage and Liverpool only could have blamed themselves as they had been a little wasteful over the course of the first hour.

Jordan Henderson blazed over when set up by a combination of Naby Keita and Sadio Mane.

Salah and Roberto Firmino both failed when presented with oneon-one opportunities before Mane flicked a low cross over when he may have done better.

Cardiff had first-half chances. The powerful Nathaniel MendezLaing was a source of problems for Alexander-Arnold down the left and one cross almost set up Junior Hoilett at the far post.

Then, Alisson Becker saved brilliantly from Oumar Niasse as the Cardiff striker hooked a bouncing ball towards the top corner.

So Warnock’s team should not give up their fight against relegation. They would appear to have spirit left and their supporters were magnificent.

And if their team do go down, at least they can say they saw Liverpool... and Manchester City.

We should all be saying that. This is a title race of stunning intensity and quality and it is far from over. CARDIFF (4-1-4-1): Etheridge 7; Peltier 6, Morrison 6, Manga 7.5, Bennett 6; Gunnarsson 6.5; Hoilett 6.5 (Murphy 83min), Camarasa 6, Ralls 6 (Bacuna 78), MendezLaing 7; Niasse 6.5 (Zohore 66, 6). Subs not used: Smithies, Decordova-Reid, Cunningham, Harris. Booked: Gunnarsson. Manager: Neil Warnock 6.5. LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 7; Alexander-Arnold 6 (Gomez 85), Matip 6.5, Van Dijk 6.5, Robertson 6; Henderson 6.5, Wijnaldum 7, Keita 6.5 (Fabinho 71, 6 (Milner 75, 7)); SALAH 8, Firmino 6.5, Mane 7.5. Subs not used: Mignolet, Sturridge, Shaqiri, Origi. Scorers: Wijnaldum 57, Milner 81 (pen). Booked: Milner. Manager: Jurgen Klopp 7. Referee: Martin Atkinson 7. Attendance: 33,082.