Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool are "100% guilty" of their failings this season - but believes it "b******s" to suggest they have become a bad team overnight.
The Reds resume after the international break with a blockbusting Premier League clash at champions Manchester City in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off.
Having ended just a point adrift of City after a thrilling title challenge last term, Liverpool are now scrambling to finish in the Champions League qualification places and stand a whopping 19 points behind their second-placed opponents.
READ MORE: Predicted Liverpool line-up vs City with Darwin Nunez and Jota decisions made
READ MORE: Djibril Cisse names €100million signing he 'would love to see' Liverpool land
But Klopp is adamant the gap does not mean a vast difference has opened up between the quality of the teams, with his squad having had to contend with continued disruption this campaign.
"An anomaly, yeah," said the Reds boss. "But in the end I would prefer it would be 12 points then we were still in the Champions League spot, but it would still be 12 points to City. We are 100% guilty for everything but things happened like they happened.
"We had injuries, wow, and of course it's completely normal for people to say 'that's not good enough, and here's not good enough and there's not good enough' and all these kind of things, but that’s b******s because (of what happened) years before. It doesn’t change overnight, you don't lose all our brains and fitness and medical (department).
"Things happen and then you have to react, but when you are a little bit unlucky in this direction then it's really difficult and the league is running away at that moment. That is where we were."
Liverpool have 12 games remaining to salvage a Champions League spot. They had appeared to have addressed a poor start to the calendar year when a record-breaking 7-0 win over Manchester United extended an unbeaten run to five, only for the Reds to then lose 1-0 at struggling Bournemouth before slipping out of the Champions League with a whimper in their round of 16 second leg at Real Madrid.
And Klopp believes the manner in which his team failed to respond to going behind in their recent defeats hints at a lack of character in being able to contend with difficult periods in matches.
"The football part, we didn’t deal well enough with setbacks through the season," said Klopp. "Then three weeks ago it looked like we were back. The Madrid game was a different competition, I would like to cut it off because it's Madrid - yes, we could have played better there and shown more there, but it's Madrid and in the end it's fair they went through.
"The Bournemouth game, is there a real explanation for it? If there is then it's the explanation I've already said, the reaction after being 1-0 down is again bad. The games before where we were not 1-0 down in we could keep building on what we did. That's something we have to change, obviously. If you can only perform when everything is going in your direction, then there's absolutely no chance."
Despite losing against four of the bottom eight teams this season, Liverpool head the mini-league between the current top six with 15 points from a possible 21, with City next on 13 from 24. And Klopp admits his team's inconsistency makes it difficult to know exactly what to expect when they step out in search of their first Premier League win at the Etihad in more than seven years.
"I would love to say ‘How can you ask this question?’ but that is the situation we brought ourselves in, that we showed all these kinds of faces," he added.
"All the talks we had, all the sessions we had, and since we started this week again when the players came back and I spoke to them - everything looks like it goes in the right direction and now we have to show it. And, yes, in this moment nobody can be 100% sure we will be like that but still usually we are there and that’s what we will be."
Klopp must decided whether to stick with the bold 4-2-3-1 formation employed last time out at Real Madrid or revert to a more established 4-3-3. Harvey Elliott and Jordan Henderson are pressing for recalls in midfield, although Luis Diaz isn't quite yet ready for inclusion having only just returned to team training. Naby Keita, Stefan Bajcetic and Calvin Ramsay are ruled out.
READ NEXT
Jurgen Klopp makes Liverpool summer transfer promise after 'surprise' development
Full Liverpool squad for Man City as four players ruled out after fresh injury blow
Rodri anger has just revealed what Liverpool must do against Man City
-
Liverpool and Everton agent fees revealed for transfer deals in 2022/23
Jamie Carragher makes 'desperate' Jurgen Klopp claim ahead of Man City vs Liverpool
