The standards currently being set by Premier League leaders Liverpool are “unbelievable”, says Rickie Lambert, with the quality bar having been raised to never before seen heights.
Records have tumbled around the Reds throughout the 2019-20 campaign.
Having made the best start to a season that an elite European division has ever seen, Jurgen Klopp’s side have kicked on to open up a 22-point lead in the English top-flight title race.
No side has ever been so dominant, with 24 wins taken from 25 fixtures, and Lambert admits the current holders of the Champions League crown are now the team for domestic and European rivals to catch.
The former Reds striker, who spent the 2014-15 campaign on the books at his boyhood club, told Liverpool’s official website: “It’s unbelievable what’s happening.
“I can’t believe the levels they’re getting to, I’ve never seen it before. To see the Reds doing it this year has been unbelievable.
“The city is buzzing. My household is buzzing. It has been brilliant to see. A few of the lads who were there in my time are still there and to see them doing so well, it’s absolutely superb. I’m made up for them.
“The work-rate they are going through is incredible. I cannot believe the levels they are getting to; I know what it’s like to play in the Premier League and to see any team get to those levels, I’ve never seen it before. I’m made up.”
Getty ImagesKlopp is considered to have Liverpool playing in his own image, with the expectations of a demanding German tactician being met in some style.
Lambert added: “It’s the belief installed through Klopp, it’s the rules and standards that Klopp has put in that the players have taken on board and probably raised it even more with the characters he has been able to bring in.
“There are a few managers within the team who push the standards on or don’t let the standards drop. And all the players are on form. The camaraderie between them is spot on.
“When everything like that comes together you see something unbelievable – and that’s what we’re seeing right now.
“I’ve been in good teams where the camaraderie is well and it helps, you stay to the standards. But to see these standards getting hit by these lads is incredible.”
Liverpool, whose senior squad have been enjoying a winter break, will be back in action on Saturday when they take in a trip to Norwich.