Jurgen Klopp warns his Liverpool FC side ahead of Man City showdown

Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp Photo: New Balance

Jurgen Klopp has challenged his Liverpool FC side to show that they are genuine title contenders this season by beating Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds have been in good form so far this term under the German manager, but they slipped to a disappointing 1-0 loss to Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday night to leave them without a win in three games.

Chelsea FC knocked Liverpool FC out of the League Cup at Anfield last week, and the Reds then managed to claim a point from their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge last weekend.

Liverpool FC have won six and drawn one of their first seven games of the season in the Premier League to leave them level on points with Manchester City at the top of the table.

And Klopp has now told his Liverpool FC players that they must focus on bouncing back by claiming a positive result against Pep Guardiola’s men on Merseyside on Sunday – before the international break.

Speaking at his post-match news conference in Naples on Wednesday night, Klopp said: “Yes, it is a tough game [against City]. Absolutely.

“And you have seen it has been absolutely intense since the last international break with the games we’ve had – twice Chelsea and stuff like that, coming to Napoli, playing PSG and now we have the game on Sunday against Man City. We cannot change that, so we have to make sure we are ready.

“You [the media] were all full of praise about the season we played so far and stuff like that. Now tonight, we didn’t perform and that’s how football works – against a good side in the Champions League, you lose. That’s happened and not more. We don’t have to think now about intensity or whatever…. We have three days to recover and then we will face Man City.

“It would have been difficult at any time in the season, it is never easy against them. Now, let’s have a look afterwards, how the players are, what happened in the game, injury-wise, little knocks and stuff like that. Then we will prepare for Sunday.

“Then we have our crowd in the back. You could see tonight, Napoli used the atmosphere and we couldn’t calm it down with our performance. But on Sunday that – at least – will be 100 per cent different.”

Liverpool FC fans will certainly be keen to see their side bounce back to winning ways this weekend as they look to head into the second international break of the season on a positive note.

The Merseyside outfit were clearly not at their best against Napoli on Wednesday night, but responding with a solid display against Manchester City would help to re-instil some confidence in Klopp’s side.

Klopp has been tasked with steering Liverpool FC towards a genuine Premier League title challenge this season, with the Reds still not having won a trophy since his appointment at Anfield back in October 2015.

Despite their lack of silverware, the Reds have been earning lots of praise for their solid performances under Klopp.

The Merseyside outfit reached the Champions League final last season but ended up losing 3-1 to Real Madrid.

MORE: Latest Liverpool FC news and views

MORE: Football transfer rumours and gossip