Luis Suarez has admitted that he felt the need to apologise to Raheem Sterling after choosing to complete a hat-trick instead of setting up his teammate in Saturday's victory at Cardiff City.
Suarez moved to 28 league goals for the season with his treble at the Cardiff City Stadium, three goals shy of Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Shearer's joint record tally of 31 goals in a 38-game season.
The 27-year-old's feat is particularly impressive as none of his efforts have come from the penalty spot.
But speaking after Liverpool’s 6-3 win, Suarez admitted he could have been less selfish as he bore down on the Cardiff goal.
“Maybe I could have tried for the pass to Raheem for the last goal. But I went for the hat-trick for my confidence, I apologised to Raheem,” he said.
Suarez was jubilant with the result and his own performance. He explained: “I am so happy with the match ball. I feel very good because Liverpool won the game. We are so happy with the performance today.
The Uruguayan striker compared the result to Liverpool’s 5-3 over Stoke City victory earlier in the season, with plenty of action at both ends of the pitch.
He said: "It was an unbelievable match. It was like the result against Stoke City away from home, when it was 5-3.”
But despite the weaknesses exposed in the Liverpool defence, Suarez was confident the Reds can continue their positive form in the next match.
He said: “It's difficult when you score and then Cardiff score at the other end, but we played very well today and we'll keep going for next week.”
