STEVEN GERRARD praised Liverpool's character after they bounced back from a controversial West Ham equaliser to earn a 2-1 win at Upton Park and keep their challenge for the Barclays Premier League title on track.

Gerrard scored two penalties, either side of a bizarrely awarded leveller on the stroke of half-time from Guy Demel, as Liverpool returned to the top of the table.

Referee Anthony Taylor appeared to overrule his assistant in awarding Demel's goal, even though Andy Carroll clearly knocked Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet on the head, causing him to drop a cross and allowing Demel to score.

He then evened things up somewhat, awarding a very soft penalty for Liverpool, from which Gerrard scored the winner. "There is great resolve, character and togetherness from the squad," the Liverpool captain said.

"We did [feel a sense of injustice] but the manager said to us at half-time we can't change anything. That one went against us, but we couldn't feel sorry for ourselves. We had to roll our sleeves up and give an extra 10%."

The win moved Liverpool two points clear of Chelsea at the top but, with a meeting with Manchester City at Anfield up next, Gerrard is not getting overly excited.

"I am not convinced [Liverpool will win the league] just yet," he added. "We have very hard games to go, we've got a huge game next week. We've got to give everything we can."