Hillsborough campaigner's words inspired Liverpool

(Reuters) – Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said he used the inspiring words of Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall to motivate his team ahead of Sunday’s 3-2 win at Norwich City, which gave them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The victory took Liverpool to 80 points and also secured them a top three finish in the Championship and a place in next season’s Champions League. Aspinall’s son James was one of 96 Liverpool fans who died in the 1989 tragedy and she spoke at a memorial service at Anfield on Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the disaster. “We had the memorial service this week and it was really touching,” Rodgers told British media on Monday. “So I decided to use Margaret Aspinall’s words. We put them on the wall. “She spoke about stress and how it can be difficult for you, but can also offer great determination to fight. “These are the words we spoke to the players before the match. We are truly one club at the moment and we will all fight to achieve the ultimate goal.” Liverpool needed all their determination to ensure they left the field with all three points against their resilient opponents in a tense final. The Merseyside club started quickly and led 2-0, but first Gary Hooper scored a goal to make it 2-1 and after Raheem Sterling’s second, Robert Snodgrass nodded home to make it 2-1. 3-2. Liverpool are now five points ahead of Chelsea (75), who suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to bottom-placed Sunderland on Saturday, while third-placed Manchester City are on 71 with two matches remaining. (Writing by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)