NewsJürgen Klopp: We're rightly in the mix - and we'll keep fighting

The Reds took a point from their Anfield clash with Manchester City on Sunday as Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty gained a 1-1 draw after John Stones had put the visitors in front.

That result means Arsenal currently top the table by goal difference from Klopp’s men, with City a point behind both in third place.

Assessing the battle for the championship in his post-match interview with Liverpoolfc.com on Sunday, the boss said: “We are this gritty, annoying, pain you will not get rid of. That’s actually the idea. In our situation we cannot now run away from other teams.

“Arsenal are in incredible shape, the last five or six games I saw them – which were outstanding – they played pretty much exactly the same line-up. No [Gabriel] Martinelli but then you have [Leandro] Trossard, that’s good as well!

“We just have to fight through to be there. [Against City], it was like, ‘Whoops, having a few boys back, that’s how it looks then.’”

Reflecting on the level of the team performance versus Pep Guardiola’s City, he continued: “Obviously Mo [Salah] came on, the first pass I’m pretty sure was to Lucho [Diaz], alone in front of the goal. That’s the quality he has and we couldn’t use him properly.

“Dom [Szoboszlai] fought himself through, he was so greedy to play and wanted to play desperately. I’m pretty sure in the first half he was like, ‘Wow, that’s a motorway here’ and goes in all directions.

“Jarell Quansah, oh my God! I would like to see the comments when you saw the line-up and Ibou [Konate] cannot play. Jarell Quansah against [Erling] Haaland, how people see it. Exceptional.

“Conor Bradley. Harvey Elliott. Still 20 and played eight positions today. Incredible football game. And all the others obviously: what Macca and [Wataru] Endo did, what Virgil [van Dijk] did.

“And Robbo [Andy Robertson] back, finally back. Robbo is back obviously but we always expect you’re back, play your best football immediately. That’s not that easy. And I saw the old Robbo and I’m really pleased with that.

“Joe Gomez! [Laughs] And up front, everybody was just a handful and really difficult to play against. It was a wonderful football game, I have to say.

“It’s a point. We proved we are rightly in the mix, and that’s it.”