‘We are ready to fight’ - Jurgen Klopp sends Liverpool title warning to Man City & Arsenal

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said his side are ‘ready to fight’ for the title after taking a point against Manchester City on Sunday.

The Merseyside club battled from a goal down at half-time to draw 1-1 at Anfield, with Alexis Mac Allister netting from spot in the 50th minute. But Liverpool will rue plenty of missed chances against the champions, with Luis Diaz twice going close, Darwin Nunez seeing a shot saved at point-blank range and Jarell Quansah also forcing a good stop from Caoimhin Kelleher in the second half.

City were rattled for long periods of the game and Pep Guardiola was forced to replace Kevin De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez with Mateo Kovacic and Julian Alvarez in the 69th minute in an effort to gain more control. But Liverpool ended the game with 19 shots compared to City’s 10, with the Reds registering an expected goals of 2.25 to 1.37.

Speaking after the game, Klopp said he was delighted with the manner of Liverpool’s performance, which shows the level his side can reach in the title run-in. “So many things we overcame this season, but today we showed we are ready to fight as long as the race goes. I love that the most,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s not like I wake up in the morning and now think ‘we have a chance’. I just know we have to perform and we have to play football,” he added. “Good football games… I have a wonderful memory for these sorts of things and I will never forget that. 

“Whoever plays in the future against Manchester City, I will think we did it a little bit better. It’s cool for us and so many top performances on the pitch.”

The result leaves Liverpool tied on points with leaders Arsenal, both of whom are a point clear of City in the title race. “As I said before the game, some media say it’s a title decider, it’s obviously not a title decider and after this game, probably no-one should be opening the champagne bottle because there is a long way to go for all of us,” opined Klopp. 

“But this is a performance that showed if you can play football like this against Manchester City, that is a statement. And I love that. They get a point, keep going and that is fine.”