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decisive moment at the start, but it has nothing to do with the rest of the season.

“It is already an unbelievable gap to close, but City have to play us one more time and they also have to play United and Tottenham twice and also another game against Chelsea.

“So there are a lot of games still to play and nobody goes through this league like a warm knife through butter. City still know they have a job to do.”

Liverpool have also dropped points at Watford and Newcastle, as well as against Burnley at Anfield.

And, while Tottenham have picked up maximum points on their travels, their only victory in four outings at Wembley was the 1-0 win over Bournemouth last weekend. Klopp (above) still believes this is a meeting of title contenders – and rejects suggestions that the scrutiny on him is now even more intense.

He said: “Of course, there is pressure – but there is always pressure at this club. I don’t feel that we go into this game with even more pressure.

“It is about going to Tottenham and getting a result. We put pressure on ourselves to do that.

“There is still a lot to get in this league and a lot to play for – especially for us.

“We have improved since last year. Perhaps not too much in the results, but in creating moments and chances.

“If we stay convinced about our way and bring in consistency, then we can have our best season.

“That is the next step. We can build on this base.”

Klopp added: “Tottenham are also title contenders. They were contenders last year and they were two years ago.

“I don’t think the manager has to look at other clubs and think, ‘We have to buy, we have to buy’ because it is very difficult to find players better than the ones they already have.

“So they have great quality and they don’t have to make many changes because they are at the best age.

“That’s a really good team. They know it’s a generation that can win titles for Tottenham.”