LIVERPOOL, England -- Embracing his teammates after a hugely significant win in the Premier League title race, Steven Gerrard looked to the skies and cried tears of joy. A first championship in 24 years is tantalizingly in sight for Liverpool and its inspirational captain. A 78th-minute winner by Philippe Coutinho earned Liverpool a 3-2 victory over title rival Manchester City and capped a thrilling and emotionally charged match at Anfield on Sunday. A 10th straight win kept Liverpool top of the standings and means four more victories in its last four matches will ensure the league trophy returns to Merseyside for the first time since 1990. "That is probably the biggest statement we have made so far," Gerrard said, moments after the leaving the pitch to a standing ovation and a pat on the back from City manager Manuel Pellegrini. "That was the longest 90 minutes I have probably played in. It felt like the clock was going backwards." Driven on by its passionate and frenzied support, Liverpool blew away City in a breathtaking opening, going 2-0 ahead thanks to goals by Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel inside 26 minutes. City produced a stirring second-half fightback, with David Silva scoring in the 57th before Glen Johnsons own goal five minutes later looked like giving the visitors a point. But Coutinho pounced on City captain Vincent Kompanys poor clearance to curl home a low strike, sending the home crowd into delirium. Jordan Hendersons injury-time red card for a studs-up challenge on Samir Nasri came too late to affect the outcome. An emotional Gerrard rounded up Liverpools players into a huddle after the final whistle and -- with his fist clenched -- delivered a rousing speech, imploring his teammates to keep going to the end of the season. For the title race is far from over. Third-place City is seven points behind Liverpool but with two games in hand. Second-place Chelsea is two points off the lead and also has the title in its own hands, with one of its last four games coming at Anfield on April 27. "The title does not finish today," Pellegrini said. "A lot of things will happen between now and the end of the season." All the momentum is with Liverpool, however, and it would mean so much to the club and its fans if it can win the league this season, given that Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans were killed in a stadium crush. Gerrards cousin was among those to die in the tragedy. Thousands of Liverpool fans lined the streets outside Anfield hours before kickoff to cheer the team bus into the ground -- "the game started on the way in," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said -- and the sea of flags, scarves and banners in the iconic Kop stand harked back to the days in the late 1970s and 80s when the club dominated English and European football. A string of tributes to mark the upcoming Hillsborough anniversary added to the gravitas of the contest and Citys players simply failed to deal with it in the first half. By the 26th minute, they had fallen two goals behind, lost midfield driving force Yaya Toure to a hamstring injury and their defence was being undone by the pace and movement of Luis Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling and the excellent Coutinho. The Liverpool crowd also played its part, following Rodgers orders to "unleash" themselves on City, and there was lift off inside the stadium when Sterling opened the scoring. Suarez played a pass in behind Kompany, whose fitness was in doubt after twisting his knee in training on Saturday. Sterling raced through before coming to a stop, befuddling Kompany and goalkeeper Joe Hart with some nifty footwork and then stroking home into an empty net. City looked rattled already and its predicament worsened in the 19th when Toure hobbled off. Then, after Gerrard had a header brilliantly saved by Hart, the midfielder whipped in the resulting corner for Skrtel to peel off Kompany and glance a header into the far corner. Cue furious scarf-waving across Anfield. "Poetry in Motion" was the chant from the Kop, but City reacted well and raised the tempo at the start of the second half, with the introduction of James Milner for Jesus Navas sparking an improvement. Milner crossed for Silva to poke home in the 57th and Silvas centre was deflected unwittingly into the net off Johnson five minutes later. It was all City but in a rare foray forward by Liverpool, Kompany miscued his clearance, Coutinho gathered and curled a shot into the corner. "We live with Hillsborough every day -- the families and the victims are in our thoughts every day," Rodgers said. "It was an inspiration for us, rather than something that held us back." 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Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013.INDIANAPOLIS - This could be as good a time as there has ever been for an openly gay player in the NFL. The league will be watching. In the wake of the bullying scandal in Miami, executives from teams around the league who gathered for the annual scouting combine spoke Thursday about being on guard to ensure their locker rooms are respectful and tolerant — especially with Michael Sam, expected to soon become the first publicly revealed homosexual in the NFL. Predictably, general managers and coaches said a culture of respect was already in place with their clubs before Richie Incognito, the Dolphins offensive lineman who led the extreme hazing detailed last week in an NFL-ordered report, became an infamous name. But while there havent been many major signs of response to the scandal, some tangible signs of change have at least emerged. Teams have begun to include language in coaches contracts that forces assistants to act with more tolerance than some of the Dolphins staff did. The move is designed to limit a teams liability if another Miami-like situation were to emerge with another club. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman confirmed that change, first reported by ESPN. "I think because its so much in light right now, that you have to monitor the locker room," Spielman said. "Itll be interesting to see once we get down to the owners meetings in March. Im sure thatll be a subject thatll be talked about." Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, drawing an overflow crowd of reporters in his first appearance since the report came out, forcefully reiterated his responsibility for all that happens to his team and promised a "better workplace." "I have to do a better job. Im going to look at every way — the way we educate, the way we communicate, the way we talk to one another," Philbin said. "Im going to look at every avenue." Reaction from the other 31 teams to the bullying report was far more muted, though other coaches — Dennis Allen of the Oakland Raiders among them — acknowledged the importance of keeping a better handle on locker room dynamics. Everyone, though, must deal with the questions about Sam, the Missouri defensive end projected to be drafted in the middle rounds. The NFL recently reminded teams off laws against asking draft prospects about their sexuality and the guidelines for interviewing players this week in Indianapolis.dddddddddddd A year ago, three players complained they were asked inappropriate questions they believed were intended to seek details about their sexual orientation. Talking about harmony is easy in the off-season, of course, but maintaining an atmosphere of respect and tolerance is another story once dozens of players are thrown together. With a 53-man roster, no coach can come close to hearing every word. "Its hard. You try to set a good culture and a good environment in your building and hope for the best," Denver Broncos coach John Fox said. Clearly, this issue will be scrutinized this year, with Sam entering the league, and the Dolphins trying to repair their image. "What happened there has nothing to do with what we are doing in Tampa Bay," new Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith said. "The locker room has been there all along. You have to have strong veteran leadership in the locker room. As the head football coach I have to have a pulse on what is going on in the locker room. Rely on a lot of people. Have a relationship were information comes to me. "No, we are not going to change what weve done. Our program has always been about acceptance. Everybody feeling like they are part. Everybody feeling good about coming to work every day in an environment where they can do their best." That is what this next class of rookies is counting on. "In every locker room you go theres going to be conflict," Memphis punter Tom Hornsey said. "Thats just the nature of the game. Its very competitive. Its got a lot of testosterone flowing through. ... But its not a concern. Im pretty laid back and just take it as it is." So whats the secret, then, to making sure the boys-will-be-boys culture that still exists doesnt become the dominant vibe of the locker room? Well, like with many issues, the Super Bowl champions are usually a good place to start. "Everybody puts pressure on themselves, and we try to create a culture thats outgoing, fun, aggressive," Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider said. "Lifes too short to stress yourself out and stress other people out." ' ' '