Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reflected with admiration on what Manchester City have achieved in the Premier League in 2021.
Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions sit nine points clear of the Reds, and eight ahead of second-placed Chelsea, heading into the new year after a 10-game winning run in the league to conclude the year.
That victorious streak culminated in a slender 1-0 win for City over Brentford on Wednesday as Guardiola’s side recorded 110 points in the league for the calendar year.
It is the most points any side has won in a year in top-flight history, with their most recent triumph taking them ahead of the 107 that Liverpool won during 1982.
Klopp still harbors hopes of catching City in his pursuit for a second league title with Liverpool but reflected fondly on the year that Guardiola has produced with the Manchester club.
The Reds are preparing to face fellow contenders Chelsea on Sunday and Klopp believes the winning team can still challenge City.
“City are flying,” he told Sky Sports in an interview published on Friday. “Before the Leicester game, we were in a perfect position, only three points behind City, which, with the season they’ve played, is incredible.
“Our start to this year, 2021, was massively difficult, and to find a way back into your normal performances and maybe improve them was a massive improvement.
“But one of us [Liverpool or Chelsea] can put pressure on City, the winner [of the match] can – the loser, I don’t know. We will see that later on.
