Liverpool aiming for 2019 Man City revenge after Jurgen Klopp's title admission

Liverpool have been handed a similar challenge to the one they sent Manchester City three seasons ago.

The Reds are aiming to regain their title but slipped up against Leicester City last time out.

Ademola Lookman's strike secured a memorable win for the Foxes and means Jurgen Klopp's side have picked up just one point from their last two games.

Those slip ups have allowed City to steal a march as Pep Guardiola's side won for the tenth straight game in the league at Brentford.

It has allowed the defending champions to open up a nine point lead over Liverpool having played a game more.

Guardiola has refused to get carried away despite his side's scintillating form and knows full well how such a lead can melt away.

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Rewind exactly three years ago and it was the City boss looking up enviously at Liverpool.

The Reds played 24 hours earlier than their title rivals and put Arsenal to the sword, beating them 5-1 at Anfield thanks to a Roberto Firmino hat-trick.

It allowed the Merseyside outfit to open up a notable 10 point gap to City, who played 24 hours later.

The psychological advantage was certainly with Klopp's side, who had just won a ninth straight league game.

City would cut the gap to seven points a day later before crucially beating Liverpool on January 4 at the Etihad to make it a four point chase.

It would prove to be the only defeat for the Reds but they later drew four times in six games to hand the initiative to Guardiola's side - one they would not wrestle back.

Now it seems that Liverpool are the ones on the back foot, facing a similar scenario to the one they laid down to the Manchester outfit.

Chelsea too are in the hunt - and happen to be Liverpool's next opponents.

Klopp's side also still need to visit the Ethiad, but before that will need to mount a run that puts the pressure on their title rivals.

The German boss, after the Leicester defeat, claimed the gap to the top was not his concern, with their performance level his main problem.

"Yeah, Chelsea and us play against each other so we cannot both have the points obviously," he said.

"I know, sorry for that. But it was not our plan tonight to give City the chance to run away or whatever. But if we play like tonight we don't have to think about catching up with City.

"But if we play our football in games we have to see how often, how many points we can get and we will see what that means.

"How I said, I don't have a proper explanation for tonight but finding this explanation is my main concern and not in this moment the gap with Manchester City."

Guardiola was certainly not planning his own victory parade.

The season is only at the halfway stage and the Catalan has remained coy on the possibility of a fourth title in five years.

He said: "All of you, thank you for your nice words because we win but I am not going to believe any words you say about it is already done or expected because Chelsea and Liverpool are more than exceptional.

"One is champions of Europe and the other has been our big rivals over the years."