Sturridge: Referee told us to continue
Daniel Sturridge grabbed his fourth goal in six Liverpool appearances against Manchester City on Sunday and revealed post-match that the referee insisted the Reds should play on in the build-up.
Edin Dzeko was down with an apparent injury when the 23-year-old picked up the ball at the edge of the hosts' penalty box and thrashed a piercing drive low into Joe Hart's bottom corner.
Roberto Mancini's men were unhappy but Sturridge explained that it was Anthony Taylor's decision to make - and he gave the visitors the green light.
"From our viewpoint, the ref said to play on - not kick the ball out," Sturridge told Sky Sports.
"It's not our job to kick the ball out. If the referee says kick it out, we do that. If the ref says play on, we play on.
"That's what the ref told us to do. We do exactly what he tells us to do, and we played on and scored. We were just abiding by what the ref told us to do."
Sturridge almost claimed a winner for the away side as the seconds ticked away too, forcing Hart into a fingertip save with an instinctive attempt from distance.
"It was a good save by Hart. I just had a toe-poke because it came at my feet and a few players closed me down," the former Chelsea man commented.
Despite picking up a knock during the opening period, Sturridge produced another scintillating performance for the Reds at the home of his old club.
Asked if it was his best showing out of the half-dozen games he has now played, the striker agreed that it was.
He added: "I'd say so. I've not been here very long and in the first few games I've lacked fitness.
"But I feel sharp now, and I'm playing and training more like myself. There's more to come from me but I was pleased with the performance today.
"It was end-to-end stuff, great for the neutral. We're gutted, to be fair. I thought we should have come out of the game with three points.
"We're disappointed but it's a point against a team that's challenging for the title, so we'll take that."
Sturridge was hopeful that the injury would not see him sidelined for an extended period.
"I did it in the first half and throughout the game I couldn't sprint," he explained.
"After I did it, I couldn't really open up properly. Hopefully it's not too serious and I'll be okay for next week's game."