Bernardo Silva does not think Manchester City should have had a goal disallowed in Sunday's defeat to Liverpool as the midfielder criticised referee Anthony Taylor for a lack of consistency.

City suffered their first league defeat of the season as they fell to a 1-0 loss at Anfield, with Mohamed Salah scoring a brilliant second-half winner.

Before that, Phil Foden had a goal wiped out following a VAR review, with referee Taylor urged to watch a replay on the pitchside monitor – a shirt-pull by Erling Haaland on Fabinho in the build-up led to the strike being disallowed.

That ultimately cost the champions a point, and Silva was particularly disgruntled by Taylor's decision given how he had refereed the game until that moment.

He told Sky Sports: "What we expect from the referees is consistency in the decisions.

"When you go through a path of not whistling little contacts through the whole game, you need to keep those decisions and keep going that way.

"If you want to whistle all of them, whistle all of them, but if from the beginning of the game you are not whistling all the little fouls, and we saw in this game the referee was letting us play, which is good, it's fine.

"Then, if there's a goal, you cannot whistle that soft one.

"If you want consistency from the referee, you cannot change just because there's a goal and just because it's a tough decision.

"You have to make the tough decision and keep the goal in my opinion."

Mohamed Salah insisted Liverpool's win against Manchester City does not mean they are back in the title race, despite a hard-fought victory over the Premier League champions at Anfield on Sunday.

The Egyptian scored the only goal of a typically fast-paced encounter between the two rivals, racing on to a long pass from Alisson before slotting past Ederson with 14 minutes remaining.

The loss was City's first in the league this season, but was also just Liverpool's third win from nine league outings, and Jurgen Klopp's men remain down in eighth place, 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and 10 behind City and Tottenham with a game in hand.

Salah said he and his team-mates are still "far away" from the top, but will try to get themselves back into it over time.

"No, we are still far away from [the title race]," he told Sky Sports. "We just need to focus on each game and take it one at a time, we don't have to think about the title at the moment.

"Of course, personally I always love to play for a title and in my head we are going to fight for it… we don't have to feel pressure because there is still a gap to first and second.

"You can see everybody here [is] unbelievable, and we should be in a better position than we are. The players are excited to win again and I think that will give us a good push for the next games."

Virgil van Dijk and the rest of the Liverpool backline did a solid job of keeping Erling Haaland quiet, with the Norwegian still getting off six shots but being denied by Reds stopper Alisson.

"It takes a lot to get three points [against City]," the Dutchman told Sky Sports. "It was always going to be very intense."

The Anfield crowd was at its best as the home fans roared Liverpool on to victory, and Van Dijk acknowledged their contribution.

"It's always like that [the atmosphere] and when certain moments happened in the game it added fuel to the fire," he said.

"It started with the hard work we put on the pitch, and that’s the minimum that’s expected here at this beautiful football club.

"That's what we gave, and the energy we had back today [from the fans] was definitely needed in order to push us forward and keep hold of the 1-0 advantage.

"They played a big part and that's what we need for the rest of the season, especially after a difficult start."

Erling Haaland has quickly become the darling of the Premier League, with his record-breaking start to the season swiftly elevating him to a status of being probably the most-feared player in the division.

At the same time, Mohamed Salah has largely endured an underwhelming start to the campaign. But after a Champions League treble in midweek, the forward made the difference as Liverpool beat reigning champions Manchester City 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday.

Salah's winning goal was just the tip of the iceberg. His performance showed he's truly back, and Liverpool's fighting spirit proved they are still – despite what the table says – one of England's two best teams.

The wider context of the game was nothing like what we've come to expect of this fixture, which in recent years has become the Premier League's biggest event and even decided the eventual destination of the title.

Jurgen Klopp conceded on Friday that while this may well be a title-deciding match again in some respects, it wasn't going to be Liverpool's trophy hopes on the line – realistically, such a challenge is surely already beyond them even after winning.

With Liverpool going into the game 12th in the table, it was their pride at stake. Much has changed since the Reds had too much for City in the Community Shield a week before the start of the season; the perception of Haaland, first and foremost.

Back then, most would've been predicting another straight shoot-out between City and Liverpool for the title, though the relative lack of jeopardy at Anfield on Sunday didn't take anything away from a riveting, fiery contest.

Klopp highlighted the potential importance of a packed Anfield, and the stadium was certainly rocking. Even minor duel successes for the hosts were cheered like goals early on; it was fierce, with meaty tackles flying in all over the place, while on the touchline the two managers snarled and barked at poor decisions and questionable refereeing calls like rabid rottweilers – Klopp's late red card wasn't particularly surprising.

Of course, for City all eyes were on Haaland. It's fair to say he's more than proven his point since a pretty dreadful – by his standards – outing against Liverpool in the Community Shield. Though, for someone as ultra-competitive as the Norwegian, there was still probably a part of him desperate to be decisive because of that day.

City certainly seemed eager to give him that opportunity, and that was arguably to their detriment in the first half. The visitors almost seemed a little too intent on finding the big blonde behemoth, as if a victory would only count if Haaland played a crucial part.

One such incident saw an opening carved open for Phil Foden, but instead of a first-time shot after being fed by Haaland, he checked back, ran into danger and then the attack petered out.

Not that Haaland didn't have his chances. One lob attempt after being released behind Virgil van Dijk troubled Alisson, then he should have buried a header from Kevin De Bruyne's cross but put it straight at the goalkeeper.

On the other side of things, Salah looked eager to remind people he was the Premier League's top attacker. The Egyptian took the game to City and was electric in the first half. His movement, strength and dribbling all troubled the visitors' defence – the problem was opportunities weren't necessarily flowing.

That changed at the start of the second half. Salah spun Ruben Dias and latched on to a Thiago Alcantara pass into the City half, playing him through on goal. He seemed destined to spark bedlam in the Kop behind the goal he was charging towards, but a remarkable fingertip save from Ederson denied him.

Alisson soon produced a similarly vital stop to thwart Haaland at the other end, having only recently seen a Foden goal disallowed for a foul by the Norway striker in the build-up.

At this point, City were dominating more than ever, but Salah had looked a threat throughout on the break. Another opportunity was certain to arrive, and it was one such moment that brought Liverpool the breakthrough.

Alisson's long punt went straight to Salah, who used his body brilliantly to spin away from Joao Cancelo before racing towards goal. Ederson could not repeat his earlier heroics – Salah coolly converted.

City piled the pressure on in response. Both teams scrapped, Bernardo Silva and Salah scrapped with each other. Klopp was sent off. Diogo Jota ran himself into the ground and on to a stretcher. The imperious Van Dijk denied Haaland a certain goal.

Liverpool held on amid a gripping and tense finale, seeing out a victory that could transform their season. But beyond that, this fixture was a showcase of such quality.

Salah's moment of brilliance was befitting as the decisive action, though there were exceptional performances on both sides. Joe Gomez, Van Dijk, James Milner, Alisson, Ederson, Haaland, De Bruyne – the list goes on. All showed their varied qualities as we were once again reminded of why this fixture has become such an anticipated duel in recent years.

Forget the table. Liverpool are one of England's two best teams, and Salah remains one of the Premier League's two best forwards.

Liverpool handed Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the season thanks to a Mohamed Salah strike in an enthralling encounter at Anfield.

The Egyptian raced onto a long pass from Alisson with 14 minutes remaining before slotting past Ederson to give the Reds just their third league win of the season.

City were frustrated to see Phil Foden’s second half goal ruled out following a VAR check for a foul by Erling Haaland in the build-up.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola’s men four points behind league leaders Arsenal, while Liverpool move up to eighth after a much-improved showing.

A high-octane start to the game did not lead to many early chances, with Ilkay Gundogan forcing the first save from either goalkeeper in the 15th minute, but his hopeful strike from 25 yards was easy for Alisson to deal with.

Liverpool's first opportunity came through Diogo Jota, who could only place his header from a cross by Harvey Elliott straight at Ederson, before Andrew Robertson received the ball on the left of the penalty area after the City stopper had palmed away a James Milner cross, but the Scot fired his effort over the crossbar.

Bernardo Silva sliced a shot into the Kop from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark, while Haaland tested Alisson on two occasions, also seeing a header loop over the bar.

The hosts should have been ahead shortly after the restart when Salah was played through on goal by Elliott, but Ederson got the slightest touch to it to tip the Egyptian's finish just wide of the right-hand post.

City thought they were ahead moments later when Haaland burst through, forcing a save from Alisson before Foden put the ball in the net on the rebound, but referee Anthony Taylor ruled it out after the VAR asked him to check the monitor, with Haaland having fouled Fabinho in the build-up.

It was Liverpool who took the lead on 76 minutes when Alisson caught a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick before launching it downfield to Salah, who outfoxed Joao Cancelo before finishing calmly past Ederson.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was sent to the stands by Taylor late on after reacting furiously to the referee's refusal to award his team a free-kick, but it did not matter as Liverpool held on for a win that could turn around their slow start to the campaign.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp named Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench as his team prepared to face Manchester City in the Premier League.

Despite scoring in each of his last two appearances, Nunez made way in the Liverpool attack, along with Fabio Carvalho, following the 7-1 Champions League win at Rangers. Diogo Jota and Ibrox hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah came in.

Alexander-Arnold had been expected to miss Sunday's fixture entirely after suffering an ankle injury in the 3-2 loss at Arsenal, but he was surprisingly among the substitutes for the clash at Anfield.

James Milner got the nod to start at right-back in place of centre-back Ibrahima Konate, who missed out through injury, meaning Joe Gomez moved inside to partner Virgil van Dijk in the middle.

There were two more changes from the thrashing of Rangers as Jordan Henderson and Kostas Tsimikas were replaced by Thiago Alcantara and Andy Robertson.

City made five changes following their 0-0 draw in Copenhagen, with Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland coming in for Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez.

Frenkie de Jong's future at Barcelona remains up in the air after a drawn-out saga ahead of the season.

The Dutch midfielder had interest from Barcelona but wanted to stay at Camp Nou.

However, De Jong's opportunities have been limited this season, perhaps encouraging further bids.

TOP STORY – LIVERPOOL MOVE IN FOR BARCELONA'S DE JONG

Liverpool have entered the race to sign the unsettled De Jong from Barcelona, claims SPORT.

De Jong resisted interest in from United with a strong desire to play Champions League football, which Jurgen Klopp's side can offer.

Liverpool midfielders Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner are all out of contract at the end of this season, when Arthur's loan will also expire, so the club are assessing their options.

The domestic struggles of the Reds could precipitate January transfer activity, given their need for midfield reinforcements.

ROUND-UP

– Liverpool may try to hijack Chelsea 's move for RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku, claims The Sun. The Reds sent scouts to watch the French forward against Celtic in the Champions League in midweek but fear Chelsea are well down the line with Nkunku, and they have missed the boat.

– Talks between Everton and Chelsea target Anthony Gordon on a contract extension have stalled, according to The Sun. Gordon reportedly wants approximately £100,000 per week.

– Manchester United have reached out to Lautaro Martinez's agent about the Inter forward's availability, claims Gazzetta dello Sport. Martinez is contracted until 2026, while Barcelona are also interested.

– United have joined Chelsea and Manchester City in having an active interest in Milan's Portuguese attacker Rafael Leao, claims The Mirror. United sent scouts to watch him against Chelsea in the Champions League.

– Chelsea are interested in Napoli's Slovakia international Stanislav Lobotka, reports Calciomercato. Napoli and the midfielder are close to sealing a new deal.

– Newcastle United have commenced discussions with the agent of Vasco da Gama midfielder Andrey Santos, reports Torcedores. Barcelona are also interested in the Brazilian, who has a release clause of £34.6million (€40m).

Jurgen Klopp joked Pep Guardiola should take a four-year sabbatical when his Manchester City contract expires at the end of the season.

Guardiola has led City to four Premier League titles in the last five seasons, but his future at the Etihad Stadium is unclear with less than 12 months remaining on his deal.

On Friday, Guardiola said he was not considering his contract situation for the time being, declaring there would be "plenty of time" for talks after the Premier League breaks for the World Cup next month.

Liverpool have often suffered due to Guardiola's brilliance, finishing as Premier League runners-up to City on two occasions, and Klopp says there can be no questions over his rival manager's quality.

Asked whether he thought Guardiola would remain at City beyond this campaign, Klopp said: "I would prefer for Pep to be doing a sabbatical for four years or something, 100 per cent.

"Actually, my preferred solution would have been if he had a sabbatical these past four years. Honestly, it's a joke, but I have no idea.

"I've said it, I don't know how often; he is the best manager in the world. He has proven that all the time, every day. It's special, what they are doing, and I respect that."

Asked whether Guardiola's incredible standards made his own job the toughest in football, Klopp said: "Yeah, but it's fine, I am a very happy person. I have no problem with the situation.

"I'm not [Roger] Federer and Pep is not [Rafael] Nadal, they compete on the highest level and are best friends. Pep and I are not best friends because we don't know each other.

"But I respect him a lot, I know he respects what we are doing as well, so that's fine. For a rivalry you don't need to be disrespectful.

"Around the games, we have a good relationship; during the games we are both competitors. I could always admit brilliance when I saw it, and with him, that's the case."

While Guardiola has brought 11 pieces of silverware to City since his 2016 arrival, he has yet to deliver the Champions League trophy, but Klopp says that has no bearing on his standing in the game.

"I am not here to name City's targets. They are the best team in the world, I think it's obvious," Klopp said. "I think they won an awful lot, to be honest, and were unlucky in moments to not go through in the Champions League, nothing else.

"Last year they should have gone through, but that's how life is. From a sports point of view, I couldn't respect what they do more, that's the 100 per cent truth.

"What Pep is doing, it's absolutely outstanding. He will never stop, he wants to win each game desperately… he has so many things which are special for a manager."

Jurgen Klopp acknowledges Liverpool cannot compete with Premier League rivals Manchester City and Newcastle United financially, declaring "some clubs have a ceiling".

Liverpool go into Sunday's encounter with City trailing the champions by 13 points, having made their worst start to a league campaign since 2012 – when they took nine points from their first eight games.

Pep Guardiola's side beat Liverpool to the Premier League title by just one point last season, and have gone from strength to strength since the arrival of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile, with Newcastle enjoying a strong start to their first full season under their hugely wealthy Saudi owners, boss Eddie Howe declared there was "no ceiling" for the Magpies on Friday.

Asked how Liverpool could keep pace with City, Klopp said they were one of three clubs in world football operating without any economic restraints. 

"You will not like the answer, and you all have the answer already," Klopp said. "Nobody can compete with City. You have the best team in the world, and you put in the best striker on the market.

"No matter what it costs, they just do it. I know City will not like it, nobody will like it. Liverpool can not act like them. It's not possible. 

"It's just clear. There are three clubs in world football that can do what they want, financially. It's legal and everything, fine. But it's a fact.

"It's not a problem at all for me, it is what it is. But don't ask me that question. You all should know it, it's not possible to deal with that, and it will be like this.

"I hear now at Newcastle they said, 'there's no ceiling for this club'. He's absolutely right, there's no ceiling for Newcastle. Congratulations, some other clubs have ceilings."

Haaland has played a massive role in City's unbeaten start to the season since his big-money move, scoring 20 goals in 13 appearances for the club.

Pre-season saw comparisons drawn between Haaland and Liverpool's new frontman Darwin Nunez, who has only scored two Premier League goals, but Klopp wants the Uruguayan to focus on his own game.

"I'll say it like this: I think Darwin Nunez would have scored a couple more goals if he could play in the centre for Man City this season," Klopp said.

"He would be a good striker for them too, finishing the situations off. We have to improve our game to bring more situations.

"I don't know. I hope he's not in a process where he compares himself with Erling Haaland, but I think he's really making steps here. You could really see in his face and everything, his goal [in a 7-1 thrashing of Rangers on Wednesday] was really important to him.

"You need these moments, I hope he's not doing that or thinking about that. I don't see that. We are in our situation and want to solve our situation, that's all we are concerned about."

The outoome of Liverpool's clash with Manchester City is likely to hinge on how Virgil van Dijk copes with "absolute phenomenon" Erling Haaland, according to Gary Neville.

City trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by a point ahead of their trip to Anfield on Sunday, while Liverpool are 13 points further back, seemingly out of title contention already.

Pep Guardiola's men are the only unbeaten side in the Premier League, thanks in no small part to the extraordinary exploits of Haaland.

Having only played nine games in the top flight, Haaland has already broken the records for most goals (15) and goal involvements (18) in a player's first 10 appearances in the competition. 

A trip to Merseyside will see Norway striker face arguably his toughest opponent yet in Van Dijk, and Neville is excited by the prospect of their duel.

"I still think, no matter what form Liverpool are in and where they are, Sunday will still feel like the toughest game they [City] are going to face," Neville told Sky Sports.

"Look, at the end of the day you know what I feel about those two clubs, but on Sunday you can't help but think of Haaland against Van Dijk.

"You just can't stop thinking about how that's going to play out. The best centre-back in the world for the last three or four years, who has struggled a little bit more this season. 

"But he's against this absolute phenomenon. That Liverpool back line, which pushes up with space in behind… I'm fascinated by that, I can't wait for it, to be honest."

Liverpool are winless in their last five Premier League meetings with the champions (D3 L2) – they have never previously gone six without a victory against City in the league.

Manchester City already have one of the best players in the world in Erling Haaland. Having tied Phil Foden to a new contract, they believe they will soon have another.

Foden's long-awaited five-year deal was announced by City on Friday ahead of a big trip to Anfield this weekend.

This fixture, away at Liverpool, has seen Foden deliver two of his most complete performances in a City shirt in the previous two seasons, scoring and assisting in a 4-1 win in the 2020-21 campaign before grabbing another goal in last term's 2-2 draw.

Now, those sorts of displays are arriving with even greater consistency, prompting an even more prominent role for arguably England's brightest prospect.

When Pep Guardiola shuffled his pack at Copenhagen in midweek to rest key men for the Liverpool match, it was Haaland and Foden who dropped to the bench.

Haaland's 20 goals in 13 matches this season have stolen the show, but Foden, who matched the Norway forward in netting a Manchester derby hat-trick at the start of the month, has seven in 13 from a wide position.

With three assists, too, Foden is contributing a goal involvement every 81 minutes – more than justifying the faith City have shown in him by agreeing new terms.

"We are all so proud of Phil and what he has achieved already," said City director of football Txiki Begiristain. "But we know there is so much more to come.  

"His natural talent and ability are obvious, but his hard work, professionalism and dedication make him really special. He loves football more than anything, and his desire to improve is really incredible.  

"We feel he can progress further and become even better than he is today.

"By signing this contract, he now has stability and can focus absolutely everything on becoming one of the best players in the world, which we feel he can be."

Foden is still only 22 but has four Premier League titles to his name. Ryan Giggs, who won a record 13, had only three by the time he turned 23.

Although Foden has already tallied over 10,000 minutes across 182 first-team appearances, he initially had to bide his time under Guardiola.

Foden started only three matches in all competitions in the 2017-18 season and 11 the following campaign. Even in the season after that, 2019-20, when he had 17 goal involvements, just 18 of his 38 appearances were starts.

Now, however, the boyhood City fan is one of the first names on the team sheets in the biggest games – this Sunday's fixture undoubtedly included.

"He's not a young talent any more," Kevin De Bruyne said late last season of a team-mate then still just 21. "He's one of the guys."

Foden had 16 goals and 10 assists in 50 matches in 2020-21, then 14 goals and 11 assists in 45 matches last time out.

He appears certain to scale new heights this season alongside Haaland, who has assisted two of his seven goals, with De Bruyne teeing up three.

In the Premier League, Foden has six goals through City's first nine matches, doubling his output at this stage of last season – then a career high.

Guardiola's patient approach has clearly paid off, as Foden himself added on Friday: "I think he has made me 10 times the player I was."

There never appeared any doubt Foden would be staying at City, but that does not make Friday's news and the prospect of five more years in this side any less daunting to their title rivals.

Jamie Carragher has told Liverpool to focus on stopping Kevin De Bruyne in Sunday's clash against Manchester City, which he believes would cut the supply to Erling Haaland.

Jurgen Klopp's side welcome City to Anfield after a disappointing start to their Premier League campaign, sitting 13 points behind their opponents following a defeat to Arsenal last week.

Stopping City from extending that gap will be tough, particularly with Haaland in such incredible goalscoring form. The former Borussia Dortmund has already scored 15 league goals, only eight fewer than the 23 managed by Golden Boot winners Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah last season.

While that may encourage Liverpool to pay special attention to the 22-year-old, former Reds defender Carragher believes the key factor will be limiting De Bruyne's influence on the game.

"I'd almost be more focused on De Bruyne rather than Haaland in this game," he told Sky Sports' Essential Football podcast.

"If you stop De Bruyne, you take 50 per cent away from Haaland as well as the connection the two have got is there already. And for me, De Bruyne is the best midfielder in the world.

Phil Foden has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City, committing his future to the Premier League champions until June 2027.

The England international reportedly began negotiations over fresh terms more than 12 months ago, with a change in the creator's management delaying the finalisation of his new deal.

However, the Stockport-born playmaker has now reached an agreement over his future, having emerged as a key part of Pep Guardiola's team since his November 2017 debut.

"It's hard to put into words how happy I am to have signed this contract. It's a dream come true," he told the club's official website.

"I have been a City fan all my life. I've trained here for so many years and I've even been a ballboy. I love this club so much, so to know I am going to be a part of it until 2027 feels amazing.

"I've improved a lot in recent years and so much of that is down to Pep and his staff, who guide me every single day on the training field. Working with them gives me the best chance of improving even more and becoming the best player I can be.

"With the squad we have here, I feel I can keep learning and winning trophies. Those are the two most important things to me."

Foden has won four league titles and five domestic cups with City, as well as being named the Premier League's Young Player of the Season in each of the last two campaigns.

The 22-year-old has also started the new season in excellent form, scoring seven goals across 13 appearances in all competitions.

That includes a hat-trick in City's recent 6-3 drubbing of rivals Manchester United, a game where Erling Haaland also secured the match ball with a trio of goals himself.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is "not thinking one second" over a potential contract extension as his team prepare to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Having joined City in 2016 and led them to four of the last five Premier League titles, Guardiola's side once again look favourites to win the league.

They are the only remaining unbeaten team in the Premier League this season and are kept off the top spot by just Arsenal.

But with Guardiola's current set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season, there are fears he may depart in similar fashion to the sabbatical period he took when leaving Barcelona in 2012 if a new agreement is not made.

However, Guardiola says he is not even considering his contract situation yet. 

"You know I am not thinking one second about that," he said.

"We have two or three weeks until the World Cup and this is an important time. After that, we have plenty of time to talk about that."

Sunday's fixture sees City face their closest competitors over the past couple of years, with the Citizens and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool finishing as the top two in three of the past five campaigns.

After finishing as runners-up in both the Premier League and Champions League last term, Liverpool have struggled at the beginning of this season, winning just two of their eight league games and already finding themselves 13 points behind City and 14 behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool's star forward Mohamed Salah has faced particular criticism for his poor start, but Guardiola believes the Egypt international will come good.

"These type of players always score goals in their career," Guardiola added. "Sometimes they struggle a little bit, but the quality is there.

"They get chances, they convert it. We played many times against Liverpool. Just because Salah isn't scoring goals now doesn't mean he's not going to score."

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will experience a familiar rush heading into Sunday's clash with Manchester City, despite writing off their Premier League title chances.

Klopp has openly dismissed the possibility of the Reds contending for top spot this term, having already slipped 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and 13 adrift of champions City.

Liverpool have regularly been City's closest challengers in recent seasons, twice taking them to the final day and winning the title themselves in 2019-20.

As such, matches between the two teams have made for compelling viewing, with the championship seemingly on the line.

Yet Klopp, while acknowledging his side will not be celebrating come May, suggests the title element could still be relevant this weekend as Liverpool welcome City – "definitely the best football team in the world" – to Anfield.

"It could be [a title decider] this year... just not with us," Klopp said.

"When you play City, the results left and right are not really important. This game requires all your focus, requires all the things you know about football.

"I enjoy preparing the game really, but it's the biggest challenge you can face in football.

"Football is all about closing down spaces, closing down players, making challenges in the right areas, these kind of things. With City, it's always: if you close down here, they are there; if you close down that gap, you open up that gap. The pitch is so big, and we have only 10 players to close all the gaps.

"It's always a challenge. It's not that we now feel different; it's a home game, it's Anfield, it's us against Man City.

"They are, at the moment, definitely the best football team in the world, that's how it is. But we will give it a try anyway, knowing there are no guarantees. We get help from a full Anfield and we try to use that."

Liverpool come into the match on a high after winning 7-1 against Rangers in the Champions League.

That was an encouraging result and performance for Klopp, but having also beaten Bournemouth 9-0 this season before again struggling, he added a joke at his team's expense.

"It's helpful when these boys at least still know where the goal is," he said. "We just need to spread the goals a bit more to different games.

"We should not focus on one, then nine, then seven, then nil. We know that."

Jurgen Klopp became aware of Erling Haaland's "insane" potential when he faced Liverpool with Salzburg, and the Reds boss believes the striker has found "a perfect fit" at Manchester City.

Liverpool were drawn into the same Champions League group as Haaland's Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.

Then 19, having hit a hat-trick against Genk on his Champions League debut, Haaland netted in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield.

The Norway international has scarcely stopped scoring since, earning moves to Klopp's former club Borussia Dortmund and then City, where he has an astonishing 20 goals in 13 games in all competitions.

Ahead of facing Haaland again on Sunday in the Premier League, Klopp was asked for his take on the dominant forward.

"Even when he was very young, younger than he is now, you could see the potential was insane," Klopp said.

"Physically, he sets new standards. The combination of being really physical and technical and [having] sensational awareness, his orientation on the pitch is exceptional, he is barely offside, he resets really well – there are so many things that make him a striker.

"Now, at City, he has some of the best players around him in the world in setting up goals and finding the right moment for the passes, with Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, [Riyad] Mahrez, whoever. They all are really good at that.

"It's a perfect fit, there is no doubt about that."

Asked how Haaland might compare to other elite forwards, with Robert Lewandowski name-checked as a player Klopp worked with previously, the Liverpool manager said: "For Erling, I think it's that he combines so many things, and it's rare.

"His finishing skills are exceptional, but he also moves really smart. You can only use the speed if you use it in a smart way, because just running is not helpful if you forget the ball or whatever. Especially behind the line, you need to make sure that you are patient enough in not being offside.

"The package makes him special."

So, do Liverpool have any special plans for dealing with Haaland? That is tricky, Klopp said, when he plays for a side as good as City.

"When you play against, at the moment, the best striker in the world, you have to make sure he doesn't get that many balls," Klopp explained.

"That's what we will try, but against City, obviously the problem is if you close Haaland down with too many players then you open up gaps for all the other world-class players, so that will not make life easier.

"It's a challenge, a football problem. We will try to find solutions."