After seeing a legitimate Raheem Sterling goal ruled out and penalty appeals from Luis Suarez waved away, the midfielder says the team are keen to bounce back at Stamford Bridge

Lucas Leiva insists Liverpool head to Chelsea motivated by a sense of injustice following the 2-1 defeat at Manchester City on Thursday.

Brendan Rodgers’ men produced a spirited performance at the Etihad against the only team with a 100 per cent home record in the Premier League.

Raheem Sterling had a legitimate goal disallowed for offside and Luis Suarez had penalty claims waved away as Liverpool left empty-handed, so Lucas is determined to bounce back at Stamford Bridge.

“Of course, everyone was really disappointed that we never got the three points, or at least a point [at City],” Lucas told the club’s official website.

“Everyone could see that we really went to win the game. I think we played some fantastic football.

“Maybe we felt a little bit unlucky with some of the decisions. If they were for us, not against us, it would have been a different result. We had some chances to score.

“Overall, it was a positive performance but of course we are disappointed because we lost. Now we have to move on – we have another big game and it becomes even more important after the defeat the other night.

“We showed against Tottenham [a 5-0 win at White Hart Lane earlier this month] as well, a big team, that we went there and played our football and passed the ball really well and we pressed.

“That’s our main quality: when we press the team and try to play, we become a very hard team to beat.

“That’s the way we have to play every game; Sunday will be another opportunity for us to show that we have great momentum despite the defeat we had against Manchester City.”