Klopp insists he pays no attention to what rivals City are doing
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp is paying no attention to what Premier League title-rivals Manchester City are doing as his side hit back in the ding-dong battle at the top of the table.
A 3-1 win over Manchester United – the club’s first in nine attempts and Klopp’s first as Reds boss – returned them to the summit after Pep Guardiola’s side had moved above them on Saturday. The Reds have a chance to extend their one-point advantage further as they play Wolves on Friday night but Klopp is focusing on what his side do and not what their rivals are up to.
“We ignored it completely [the City result]. I didn’t mention it one time,” he said. “We know the table. We played tonight against Man Utd and not Man Utd and City.
“When we eat and train together we are not saying ‘Did you see what City did?’ We are focused on what we need to do.
“But at the moment we respect them a lot and they respect us. We meet them on January 3 and then we will think about them.”
Sadio Mane’s brilliant opener was cancelled out by a first-half error by goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who dropped Romelu Lukaku’s cross at the feet of Jesse Lingard, but Xherdan Shaqiri came off the bench to score twice in the last 20 minutes for a deserved victory.
Klopp was impressed by the way his side, still unbeaten, went about their task.
“It was a good game. A brilliant start, one of the best performances we’ve had since I’m at Liverpool,” he added.