LIVERPOOL hero Luis Suarez claims Daniel Sturridge dived to win a penalty against Manchester United in 2014.
The revelation comes in the now-Barcelona hitman’s new autobiography, Crossing The Line: My Story, in which he opens up on asking his former team-mate about the Old Trafford incident.
The Reds travelled to Manchester to face their arch-rivals in March 2014 as they went in search of their first ever Premier League title.
And, in an unexpected turn of events, referee Mark Clattenburg handed Brendan Rodgers’ side three spot-kicks.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard had already scored twice from 12 yards when Sturridge went to ground in the box in the second-half.
But Suarez says the England international could have been booked for simulation.
In his book, Suarez wrote: “I must admit, I never thought I would see three penalties given against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“I certainly didn’t think we would get the one given to Daniel Sturridge. He threw himself down. But then it was such a good dive that even I thought it was a penalty. I saw it and thought: ‘Penalty’. But then I also saw how annoyed Nemanja Vidic was, which made me think that perhaps it wasn’t a foul.
“When I saw the replay, I realised that Daniel was about a metre away from Vidic. I said to Daniel later, ‘Can you imagine what would have happened if that had been me?’ He said, ‘I felt him touch me’, and started laughing.”
Gerrard ultimately went on to miss the penalty, though Suarez bagged in the 84th minute to seal an emphatic 3-0 victory.
Liverpool’s wait for top flight glory continued into a 25th year however, partly came down to an infamous Gerrard slip-up against Chelsea as the campaign drew to a close.
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