Liverpool's Raheem Sterling has revealed that a loss to Manchester United in December forced him to improve his game.
The 20-year old attacker missed a trio of gilt-edged chances in the Reds' 3-0 defeat to arch rivals at Old Trafford on December 14 for which he was heavily criticised.
Sterling was sent video footage of the misses by Liverpool's analytics department and admits watching himself fail to beat United keeper David De Gea has helped him take his game to a new level which has yielded seven goals in 14 appearances since that subpar performance in Manchester.
"That day for me was massive," said Sterling.
"I had a few chances to win us the game and I missed them. I was devastated. I went home and watched the clips over and over again. I watched it just to see what I could have done better.
"United was a low day because everyone at this club wants to win those games and I had missed the chances that would have helped us do that.
"It was definitely a real low and I had to pick myself up quickly."
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