Jurgen Klopp emphasised the importance of the three Premier League matches Liverpool will play before the World Cup break as they look to recover ground on their rivals.
Liverpool took the title fight all the way to the final day of the 2021-22 season, narrowly losing out to Manchester City, but they enter this weekend down in eighth, 12 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Ahead of the season pausing next month, the Reds will face Leeds United on Saturday, before visiting Tottenham after a Champions League clash with Napoli and hosting Southampton following an EFL Cup tie against Derby County.
Klopp's side at least head into the Leeds game on a high, having secured their progress in Europe with a 3-0 win at Ajax.
Since losing 4-1 at Napoli, Liverpool have been flawless in the Champions League, although they have only won one of the three domestic matches that have followed directly after European successes.
Asked about the prospect of taking confidence from the win in Amsterdam, Klopp replied: "I think we've had this conversation or a similar conversation after all the games we won or won convincingly – Bournemouth, Rangers, Ajax."
But he added: "We have to. It's a better feeling. Of course, I sit here with a different feeling than if we'd lost to Ajax and we had to play Leeds and then we have a final against Napoli.
"I would feel different, I can tell you. At the moment, it's not too important.
"We have to see who we can use again. The situation is it's a tough five games until the World Cup break; for us, they're all super important.
"Then there's a long break and we'll see how we come back and how others come back.
"We have to create the basis for the time after, and we have three games in the league, which are all difficult. I can't find an easy one. After the World Cup break, we are the first to face Unai Emery with Aston Villa, and we have no idea what they will do then. Great.
"That's our situation. Yes, the moment is okay, we are ready to fight again, I hope the people are ready to fight again.
"It's 19:45, Saturday night, a great time to play a football game. Everybody is in the right shape, and let's go for it."
For opponents Leeds, Klopp has seen "a massive difference between the results they got and the performance they put in".
It was suggested Leeds' struggles might be evidence of a highly competitive Premier League, and Klopp answered: "City is not running away, which makes it already more competitive.
"There is not only two teams or one team up front; there are three, four, five teams up front. My problem with that is only that we are not one of them."
Five points behind Newcastle United in fourth, let alone the title contenders, Klopp is looking to swiftly get Liverpool back on track.
He should at least be boosted by the presence of Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson in midfield. Thiago is back, while Henderson should "be okay" after he was substituted at Ajax.
Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Early Riquelme strike earns narrow win
Atletico Madrid closed in on a Champions League spot after winger Rodrigo Riquelme's early strike earned his side a 1-0 win at Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday.
With four games remaining, Diego Simeone's side are fourth in the standings on 67 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who beat Getafe on Friday.
There was an end-of-the-season feel at a half-empty Son Moix stadium with both teams lacking urgency in a lacklustre match, with the only standout moment being Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute, which ultimately secured the win for the visitors.
Riquelme pounced on a loose ball in the edge of the box and cleared two defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike just inside the right post.
Data Debrief: Mallorca's blunt attack easily stopped
Mallorca mustered an expected goals of just 0.24 in this game, and they have now failed to score in 15 of their 34 league games this season. Only Cadiz (17) have failed to score more often in the competition this term.
That is despite the hosts having attempted 526 passes in this game, their highest total in a single league match this season.
Sassuolo 1-0 Inter: Serie A champions suffer surprise defeat
Inter suffered only their second defeat in Serie A this season as a first-half goal by Armand Lauriente gave relegation-threatened Sassuolo a crucial 1-0 victory.
Sassuolo have a unique hold over Simone Inzaghi's side this season, as the only team to beat Inter in the league, having secured a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in September.
The result was a big boost in Sassuolo's battle against relegation, as they sit second from bottom on 29 points, with only three points between them and Cagliari in 14th place.
Lauriente got the only goal of the match after 20 minutes when Josh Doig managed to wrestle the ball back from Denzel Dumfries near the corner flag and pulled it back, with Sassuolo's matchwinner on hand to slot into the net from close range.
Data Debrief: Long time coming
This was the first time Inter have lost a league match against a team in the bottom two of the standings since way back in November 2014. On that occasion, they went down 2-0 to Parma.
Lauriente, meanwhile, has scored four Serie A goals since the beginning of April, a joint-record in the period in the top-flight (level with Hakan Calhanoglu).
Xavi insists there is 'no debate' over his Barcelona future
Xavi insisted there is "no debate" over his future at Barcelona after the Blaugrana's title hopes were dashed by Girona.
Barca lost 4-2 to Girona on Saturday, ensuring Real Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions.
Xavi, having initially elected to leave the club at the end of the season, last month performed a U-turn on that decision, confirming he would stay on until at least the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Yet that did not stop the Barca coach facing questions over his role in Saturday's post-match news conference.
"There is no debate over my future," Xavi told reporters, before expanding on his feelings after the defeat.
"I am sad, disappointed. We have experienced both sides of the coin. Ineffectiveness have killed us once and again.
"I'm the first to be angry, to be p***** off with this situation, I understand the fans. Before being a coach, I was a fan. I understand our people's frustration."
Barca are now in third place and, with four matches remaining, must now rely on Girona slipping up if they are to have any chance of contesting the Supercopa de Espana next season, with a trophyless campaign guaranteed this time around.
Girona, on the other hand, sealed Champions League qualification for the first time in their history.
Portu came off the bench to score twice in Saturday's win, and he gave an emotional interview in the wake of the victory.
"It's incredible to look at your shirt and experience this. There is nothing more beautiful than living this," Portu told DAZN with tears rolling down his face.
"I had a thorn in my side with this club. A few years ago, I experienced the other side, which was relegation and I felt very responsible because I played a lot. Today I made amends with the fans and I can smile again."
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