Klopp wants points but goals may also be vital

There was a time when title challengers had only to concern themselves with accumulating points. So high have Manchester City raised the bar in the Premier League, it feels like those chasing must be equally preoccupied with the matter of goal difference.

There was a moment shortly after Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead against Cardiff City when it is safe to assume 90 per cent of Anfield considered this an afternoon to not only secure a three-point lead, but cut a 10-goal gap to Pep Guardiola’s side.

But for the late shift through gears when Xherdan Shaqiri and Sadio Mane gave the result the polish the game’s imbalance deserved, it is conceivable the Kop would have been lamenting a slender win taking Liverpool top.

It sounds preposterous. In fact, it is preposterous.

Even asking Jurgen Klopp about it after the match felt absurd, but equally it served as another sign of his side’s progress that the question was worth posing because it had been a nagging thought during the more cumbersome periods of a one-sided game.

Not so long ago Klopp was quizzed about his team’s toils against relegation contenders. Now the expectant mood is captured with concerns about what margin of victory against poorer sides is adequate given City’s propensity to score five or six against the same opponents. City beat Cardiff 5-0 in Wales in September.

“At this stage it makes no sense to think about things like that,” said the Liverpool manager. “You have to score as often as possible. Of course, you want more and we will have games where we score more if we are greedy.

“Now we have two games in a row where we have scored four and that is pretty special.

“It is not too likely that it will happen again next week but it will happen from time to time if we stay in a good shape. We chase goals, that’s our nature. They want to score goals. First, we have to collect the most points.”

This is a logical response from Klopp. Nevertheless, with the top four swatting aside those at the bottom, the goal count may become an issue as the months pass.

Had Liverpool been so dominant only to win by one this would have been a missed opportunity. It would also have made this one of the weirdest Anfield games in memory.

Even when 2-0 down, Cardiff played to protect what they had come to Anfield for – a defeat that could not be described by anyone as a “hammering”.

When Scotland international Callum Paterson scored after

77 minutes it seemed in defiance of the match plan as it encouraged the visitors to pursue an equaliser.

In the ensuing brain-freeze caused by