Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says that his side know they have to deliver results if they are to have any chance of dethroning Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
A 2-1 win for the Reds against Fulham on Sunday saw them reclaim the summit from Pep Guardiola’s champions ahead of the international break, with goals from Sadio Mane and James Milner.
However, the Citizens have an additional game in hand over Klopp’s side and are only two points adrift as the season approaches the business end.
Though they have lost more games than Liverpool in the top flight this year, the Merseyside outfit have drawn more matches, allowing City to capitalise through their greater win ratio.
Speaking in his post-match press conference after victory at Craven Cottage, Klopp stressed that his side have given themselves the strongest chance possible with their result, but that they are under no illusions what they must do to win a first Premier League title.
“It’s the best position you can be in,” the German acknowledged. “But for us it was clear, it’s always clear. City don’t look like they will drop a lot of points, so we have to win. That’s our job.
“Now they have a game in hand, it doesn’t mean that we are now far away from them. It’s very important that we won today, you could see that in our reaction.”
The 51-year-old further admitted that his other pressing concern was that his squad returns fit from national team duty at the end of the month, as several of his first-team stars prepare to link up with their countries on the global stage.
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“The most important thing now is that everybody comes back healthy again,” he added. “For quite a lot of players it has been an intense time, and then we start immediately against Tottenham again, which is an interesting game against a really good football team.
“Nothing is decided. What we can do is make sure we stay in the race, and we want to stay in the race. Today we showed that, so all good.”
Their vanquished opponents host City next upon their return to Premier League action, though Klopp hopes that the Cottagers will be able to build on their performance this weekend in a fortnight.
“I don’t know exactly how many international players Fulham have, but City has a lot for sure,” he added. “That’s always a different game.
“Fulham play good football, the next step for them is to create something with it, chances or whatever. There is so much potential here. What I liked today, they looked quite calm.”