Sterling retains final hope despite draw

Raheem Sterling remains confident Liverpool can reach the League Cup final following Tuesday's 1-1 home draw with Chelsea in the semi-final first leg.

Having fallen behind to an Eden Hazard penalty after 18 minutes Liverpool began to control proceedings and got their reward just before the hour as Sterling fired them level.

The England international felt the hosts deserved more from the match and still has firm hopes of a Wembley appearance.

"Obviously we were disappointed to be 1-0 down going into the break," he told the club's official website.

"But the lads stuck in there really well and played some great football at times. We kept the ball really well and exploited the space. We could have gone on and won the game.

"But it's not the worst result - we'll go into next week's game fully focused, knowing we can win there. Hopefully we'll play our best and try to get the result.

"[We have to] play our normal game, try to keep the ball, be patient and don't try to rush things. We know we'll get chances there.

"It is down to us to keep focused over the next few days and go into the Bolton game [in the FA Cup], that's the most important one now.

"Hopefully we can get the result there and then think about Tuesday when it comes. We just need to play our normal game and everything else will follow."

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