WE’RE READY FOR A FIGHT TO THE END
JURGEN KLOPP has told his Kop stars to savour the title race and ignore Manchester City’s near-perfect form.
Liverpool’s season has so far been almost faultless and yet they are still behind the champions – and have three more of the big guns snapping at their heels.
But the German coach says he has seen enough from the Reds to believe they can take the title race right down to the wire.
“It is probably the most exciting season for years,” said Klopp. Asked if he believes Liverpool’s unbeaten Premier League run – they have dropped points only in draws with City and Chelsea – can continue, Klopp said: “Yes.
“Who should I doubt in the team at the moment? We are in a good place, and we have to see it as an exciting time.
“I am a football fan as well and for a football fan it’s great. It will probably be a fight at both ends of the table until the last day. It is our job to be ready for that. At the moment it looks like we are ready but we will have to prove that many times this season.”
Klopp is without his skipper Jordan Henderson and fellow midfielder Naby Keita for this evening’s trip to the Emirates, but he has his strike-force back on song for a fixture he has never lost.
His five meetings with Arsenal as Reds manager have produced a staggering 27 goals, with Liverpool scoring three or more in all of them.
With relentless City facing a straightforward match at home to struggling Southampton tomorrow, Liverpool can’t afford to drop points against the Gunners.
But Klopp has told his side they can’t think about City’s incredible form because that will only put pressure on them.
“For us it is not important what other teams are doing, only if we play them,” he said.
“We are focused on us – that’s the only way I know it will work.
“It doesn’t make sense to think about what other teams are doing because it puts you in a situation where you feel like you are not in charge. You react to what they do. They win and immediately you put pressure on yourself.”
Instead, Klopp will rely on his side to keep doing what they have done – and he believes they are better equipped than ever to deal with the pressure of matching City at the top of the Premier League.
“Last year a few teams had really good seasons but there was no chance to catch City because by November they were clear,” he said.
“That’s why I say so far, so good. We don’t feel ‘wow! We are really good.’ It’s more ‘we won, cool, let’s go again.’ We have learned to do that after maybe a few years when it was not that obvious that the players could cope with that situation.”