The Spurs defender believes that the main reason why his side are nine points behind the Reds is the deadly quality brought by the Uruguayan

Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen believes that his side would be closer to Liverpool in the Premier League table if it were not for Luis Suarez.

Suarez has scored 28 goals in just 25 top-flight appearances this season to help the Reds into second place in the table, only four points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand.

Spurs’ next Premier League fixture sees them travel to Anfield on Sunday, with Vertonghen set to be handed the unenviable task of keeping the Uruguayan – and his strike partner Daniel Sturridge, who has 19 Premier League goals this term – at bay.

And the Belgian, who played with the striker at Ajax, feels that his former team-mate is the main reason why Liverpool are nine points clear of Tottenham, telling reporters: “Suarez, Suarez is the reason for that.

“At the moment he is up there as one of the best strikers in the world. I think he is the difference between the teams.

“They are one of the best teams in the league and they show it every week.

“It is going to be very hard, especially at Anfield, and I hope we can play as we did last season because we did very well, not the result but the performance.”

Liverpool won the reverse fixture at White Hart Lane 5-0 back in December – a game that marked the end of Andre Villas-Boas’ time in charge of Tottenham.

The England international believes that those without a vested interest in the Premier League title race would prefer to see the Reds triumph

Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson believes that most neutral fans will be on the Reds’ side in the race for the Premier League title.

Brendan Rodgers’s men recorded their sixth successive league victory on Saturday, triumphing 6-3 in an action-packed encounter at Cardiff City to remain four points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand.

The Merseysiders have averaged four goals a game during their winning streak, taking their tally to 82 times in 30 league matches this season, and the defender feels that, as a team who also have not won the league recently, their exciting play will have won them plenty of support.

“Just to spice things up, the neutrals would want to see us win it,” Johnson suggested to the media. “Nobody wants the same teams to be winning it over and over again. I guess the neutrals will be packing a punch for us. We must be good to watch.

“People watch football to enjoy themselves, see goals and see exciting football and I think we do provide that. I think people will be rooting for us because it will be something different.

“I’m not that surprised by how we’re playing. Even last season we were battering teams but not getting the goals. At the moment we are playing well and getting the goals. It’s a case of staying calm and keeping it going.”

Johnson took particular pleasure from Liverpool’s victory over Cardiff, with the game representing a potential banana skin after an eye-catching 3-0 victory at Manchester United six days earlier.

“Over the years this type of game has been the most difficult we have had, after a big win,” he recalled. “Everyone at the club was so high last week after beating Man Utd and it could have been difficult to raise ourselves to the same heights, playing a game that we were expected to win.

“It showed our character. Those three points were just as important as the ones at United.”

Just over a month ago there were actually fears that Lionel Messi’s love affair with ‘The Beautiful Game’ was coming to an end. “It’s as if he has been married for 15 years to football and got bored of it,” mused former Barcelona assistant coach Angel Cappa.

If he is bored, that would only be because it is all so ridiculously easy for him, as he so thrillingly underlined at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night. But there was certainly no evidence of a lack of passion in what was yet another sensational performance against Real Madrid.

After creating the opener for Andres Iniesta, the Argentine then made it 2-2 with a composed finish before quickly reclaiming the ball from the net and sprinting back to halfway to restart the game as quickly as possible.

Messi equalised again midway through the second half, this time from the penalty spot after Neymar had been felled in the area after latching onto the most sublime through-ball from the Blaugrana No.10.

The 26-year-old then converted another spot-kick late in the game to earn Barca a vital 4-3 win that drew Tata Martino’s under-pressure side to within a point of Madrid and new leaders Atletico and, as Goal Espana‘s Miguel Churruca explains, strengthen Messi’s claims as the greatest player ever to grace the Clasico.

“It was another stunning performance by the four-time Ballon d’Or winner,” he enthuses.

“By scoring the first one of his three goals, Messi became the all-time record goalscorer in the Clasico, overtaking Real Madrid icon Alfredo di Stefano.

“His second then saw him move ahead of Hugo Sanchez and into second place in La Liga’s all-time record goalscorer standings.

“However, what was most significant was that Messi had once again produced another brilliant and convincing game when Barcelona really needed him most to keep them in the Liga title race.”

The Shortlist

Ciro Immobile – Torino Goal’s Mark Doyle: “Now the joint-top scorer in Serie A after a hat-trick against Livorno that boosts his World Cup hopes.”
Ndombe Mubele – AS Vita Club  @Snezzy_90: “Today we say Messi#Respect Mubele#Respect.” Goal’s Alec Fenn: “A treble against Kaizer Chiefs puts his side on the verge of the CAF Champions League group stage for the first time.”
Luis Suarez – Liverpool  @FRfootballMax: “4 – Only the fourth player to score 3+ hat-tricks in a single PL season.” Goal’s Chris Myson: “After his heroics at Cardiff, the Uruguayan has now struck 28 times in just 25 Premier League outings this term.”
Yaya Toure – Manchester City @OtiAdjei: “Watching Yaya Toure’s hat-trick again. What a player!!” Goal’s Stefan Coerts: “A colossal performance against Fulham from the Ivorian, who now has 16 league goals this season – from midfield.”