Generous Gerard Houllier praised Bradford City for pushing treble-chasing Liverpool all the way in front of the biggest crowd at Valley Parade for 31 years last night.
The Reds won 2-0 with second-half goals from Michael Owen and Gary McAllister but not before relegated City had pushed them all the way in front of 22,057 - the largest since 23,000 saw an FA Cup third-round tie against Tottenham in January 1970.
Liverpool boss Houllier said: "Bradford showed the quality of a Premiership team and you've got to give credit to them. They played some good stuff at times, with some good movement, and they really pushed us. It's never easy to play a team that has nothing at stake. I knew they would play freely and give their all.
"Maybe their shots were more from outside the box because we defended well but Bradford gave us a very hard game. It was a massive win for us."
While Liverpool went third and into the Champions' League places, City are now resigned to finishing bottom but will go down fighting.
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