'Biggest joke in history of football' - Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp refuses to write off Man City's Premier League title hopes

The reigning champions have gone four games without a win in the English top-flight, dropping them to fourth in the table. Liverpool – following a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane – are now the closest challengers to leaders Arsenal, with just two points separating them from the summit. City are only six points adrift, though, and have dominated the domestic scene under Pep Guardiola.

With that in mind, and with City having dashed Liverpool’s title dreams on a couple of occasions with remarkable winning runs, Klopp told reporters when asked if the Blues are drifting out of the picture: “If somebody would write City off that would be the biggest joke in the history of football. Arsenal are fighting and had a similar experience we had [late win vs Fulham]. It feels really good but anyway you have to start the next game from 0-0. Aston Villa is incredible. United is there, don't play yet maybe exactly the football whoever wants - the media or whatever - but they have points like crazy. Chelsea, I'm not sure if they're coming. The league is incredibly strong, you need to be lucky to get through difficult moments, with injuries especially. So I have no clue [who will win the title]. Probably [there are more challengers]. It was the last years, always two. I'm not interested in that, so long as we're around there. But it's so difficult and intense. Ask me again in April.”

Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai got the goals for Liverpool against Sheffield United, with Klopp adding on a professional performance that saw the Reds take maximum points from the division’s bottom club: “Let me say it like this: I am really pleased with the result and I am really pleased with a lot of aspects of the game. I would call it a mature performance besides a few moments when we gave the ball away in areas where we should not do it. That was when the crowd got excited. Besides that if you didn't see the game, you could have heard it because we calmed an atmosphere down that was really ready to go and that was super important. And besides that I don't want to be overly critical, I know we can play better football but this time of the year you play and hopefully win and play again. That is it.”

Liverpool have a busy run through to the end of the calendar year, with there still six more games for them to take in across three competitions – with there Premier League meetings with the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal to be factored into an equation that also includes a final Europa League group stage outing and a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with West Ham.