LIVERPOOL captain Steven Gerrard has told his team-mates they must all treat Sunday's match against Norwich "like it's the last game of our careers".

The England midfielder struggled to contain his emotions after the Reds secured a 3-2 win over Barclays Premier League title rivals Manchester City, but pulled his team-mates into a huddle at the final whistle to impress upon them the importance of not letting their advantage at the top slip over the remaining four games.

As far as Gerrard is concerned, he will approach facing relegation strugglers Norwich in just the same way as he would an encounter with one of the division's heavyweights and also evoked the spirit of Liverpool's astonishing Champions League final comeback against AC Milan in 2005 as a reference point for his team at Carrow Road.

"We have to treat Norwich like we treated AC Milan in 2005," he said. "We have to forget what colour their kit is and the personnel wearing it and treat them as the best players in the world. We have to prepare like it's the last game of our careers."

The victory over City - secured by Philippe Coutinho after a sliced clearance from Blues captain Vincent Kompany fell to him - was the Reds' 10th successive league win but the bare statistics alone do not excite Gerrard if they don't lead to glory at the end of the season.

"You get nothing for 10 successive league wins apart from a pat on the back," he said. "What is key is getting something to show for all the hard work - we could go and win 13 in a row and lose the last one and we won't get anything."

Liverpool lead the league by two points from Chelsea, who won 1-0 at Swansea on Sunday, with City seven points behind the Reds but with two games in hand. The first of those comes against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow night.