Jurgen Klopp: Leeds clash Liverpool’s most important game | Pep Guardiola targets huge Man City points haul | Football News

Jurgen Klopp has told his Liverpool players to forget about next Sunday’s Carabao Cup final until they have dealt with Leeds in midweek.

In a week’s time at Wembley, where Chelsea lie in wait, they have the chance to pick up their first silverware from the four competitions they are still challenging in.

While trophies are what matter most to the players, the wider picture is the need to maintain momentum in their Premier League title challenge.

The 3-1 come-from-behind win over Norwich took on greater significance following Manchester City’s home defeat by Tottenham as the gap at the top was narrowed to six points.

Liverpool now have the chance to reduce that even further as they play their game in hand – the rearranged visit of Marcelo Bielsa’s side from Boxing Day’s postponement – on Wednesday.

A ninth successive win in all competitions would further increase the pressure on the leaders and Klopp insists that is where the focus must be.

“We never had it before, that we are in all four competitions. That’s absolutely incredible and we really enjoy that,” he said. “Long may it continue because that means we can play a lot of football games. That’s what we love most.

“But it’s not easy and that’s exactly why we changed seven times [against Norwich].

“I expect from the boys that they listen when I tell them that the next game we play is absolutely the most important game we’ve ever played.”

Even without the injured Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino – both remain doubts for next weekend – and rested full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson and midfielder Fabinho, Liverpool had too much quality for Norwich, who were dreaming of an upset after Milot Rashica’s deflected shot early in the second half.

But just like against Inter Milan at San Siro in midweek the match turned on the introduction of substitutes, with Thiago Alcantara, in particular, bringing calmness and clarity to an increasingly fraught situation.

Within a four-minute spell Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah – with his 150th goal for the club – had both scored brilliant individual efforts to take the match away from the visitors, with January signing Luis Diaz’s first goal for the club adding further gloss.

“That’s a big bonus for us. We need everybody over the next few months so to use the bench and to make an impact is really important,” captain Jordan Henderson told liverpoolfc.com.

“We put them under some pressure and managed to break the deadlock with the goal and got back into the game and then the momentum changes.”

Klopp is likely to make changes again for the visit of Leeds, with Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Fabinho and Thiago all likely to return.

“Leeds is a tough game, it’ll be a really intense game and you know how well they play,” added Henderson. “So we need to be ready for it, use the whole squad again – I’m sure we’ll have fresh legs again for Wednesday.”

Neville: Kane shows Man City what they miss

Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast:

“We know Liverpool are a great side – there’s no doubt about that. They were without Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah for the last month which made it even more difficult to chase down Manchester City.

“If you were to tell me three or four weeks ago that Salah and Mane were to get to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations and Liverpool would end up closing the gap on City, I’d have said that’s not going to happen because City looked absolutely incredible.

“But we do have a title race. The game between Tottenham and City was fantastic and I couldn’t speak more highly of the Premier League this season. Tottenham’s game plan was fantastic and it suited Antonio Conte with him up against it and everything pointing towards a decline.

“What we saw on Saturday from Harry Kane wasn’t necessarily an all-round centre forward performance but an all-round leadership performance. He made every single touch count. He was so precise with everything he did and to beat Manchester City, it has to be that way.

“You have to demonstrate courage and determination against City with the blocks they have in place but Kane didn’t waste a pass and everything he did was perfect. It demonstrated what City were trying to sign and the centre forward Manchester United would love to have. A centre forward that’s reliable, who will score goals and who people can play off.

“People will say he can’t run as much as he used to but for Manchester City, that’s not the most important thing because they dominate the ball for 75 per cent of the game.

“The defeat opens the door for the title challengers. Liverpool still have to play Man City, Manchester United face City so it definitely does open a door but there will be no panic. They’ve got too much experience. I don’t think I could look at the game against Spurs and say they were complacent but they’ve just gone and won 5-0 in Europe, Spurs have been losing games, and they just got caught out.

“They got caught out by sloppiness themselves but mainly in having an outstanding performer against them in Kane. I expected Man City to win the game but it’s good for the league and it’s been too good a competition this year for there to be a runaway winner by 12-15 points.”

Can Man City hold off Liverpool?

Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City team will need a lot of points to become champions again after Tottenham blew the Premier League title race open.

Guardiola’s side seemed on an unstoppable march towards another title after a 15-game unbeaten run but an incredible 3-2 win by Antonio Conte’s team – inspired by two goals from City’s summer target Harry Kane – put Liverpool within striking distance.

Liverpool’s come-from-behind win against Norwich means that City’s lead at the top is down to six points, with the Reds holding a game in hand and the two sides still have to play each other.

Guardiola has always guarded against complacency and says only a big points total will see them defend the crown they won last season.

“In January or February nobody has won anything, especially in this Premier League, the teams at the bottom won because every team fights for everything,” the City boss said.

“We know it will be difficult, we know it. That is why we have to win games and games. Today happened, we lost the game, we were close to drawing, maybe winning.

“We will recover this week with good training sessions and prepare for the next game.

“We have to fight every game and every game we are going to win is going to be close. I said we need a lot of points to be champions. And this is what we need to do.”

Spurs went ahead early through Dejan Kulusevski but Ilkay Gundogan’s strike just after the half-hour got City level and looked like being the springboard towards another victory.

But Kane had other ideas, restoring Tottenham’s lead, seeing another scratched out by VAR and then heading in a dramatic added-time winner moments after Riyad Mahrez made it 2-2 with a penalty.

City had not lost since Crystal Palace won 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in October, after which they won 14 of their next 15 league games.

Gundogan says this latest defeat could be a wake-up call that City needed.

He said on the club’s official website: “We know there is still a long way to go and the season is still long. Maybe this is a good sign for us that nothing is given and we need to earn every single three points.

“We will try to recover and be ready for the next game.”