The Reds are in line for a record-breaking season in England’s top flight but their manager has nothing but respect for their distant rivals
Jurgen Klopp dismissed claims that Liverpool‘s dominance is a sign that the Premier League has become less competitive, while warning that his side could still improve.
Liverpool went down to the wire last season against Manchester City in a thrilling title run-in before ultimately losing out by a single point.
In 2019-20, however, the Premier League has been little more than a procession, with Liverpool leading by a massive 22 points having won all but one of their games to date.
Two more wins for the Reds could see them clinch the title in record time if City fail to take a point from their corresponding fixtures; but Klopp believes the gap at the top does not show a dip in quality.
“I couldn’t care less [what people say]. Look, it is completely normal. I don’t think that we should have any concern for things like this,” he told reporters on Monday.
“If other people think like that – if they think City are not as good as they were – they are! They have scored a little less goals than us, conceded a few more, and if you look why it is clear they have been missing some players.
“The other teams are really strong too. Yes, Bayern beat Tottenham and Chelsea [in the Champions League] but they are really strong over a season.
‘Yes, [Spurs and Chelsea] have had some problems, that’s all true. But in the moment that you play them you don’t feel that they have these problems. The points they have, we have no influence on that apart from the games when we play them.
“So it says nothing about the quality of the Premier League, especially when you look at City v Real Madrid. I know that people look at these things and you saw that one of the best teams in the world maybe in the moment and City were clearly better so that shows as well how strong the League is.”
If any of Liverpool’s distant title challengers hold out hopes of a more competitive campaign next time round, though, Klopp has an ominous message for them.
“There is still a lot of work to do and a lot of space for improvement,” he added..
“You see our games and result wise it looks okay but performance-wise there is a lot of space for improvement. That is what we work on and try constantly through the week.
“Result consistency is maybe difficult to improve because that is close to perfection, obviously, but it is possible to improve the performances in all departments. There are so many things you can improve that that will never end.”
Liverpool will hope to take another step towards the title on Saturday, when they visit Watford at Vicarage Road.
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