Jurgen Klopp insisted Liverpool would keep fighting for the Premier League trophy after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham dealt their title hopes a huge blow.
It could have been worse for Klopp's team, who fell behind to a close-range strike from Son Heung-min but kept going and snatched a draw thanks to Luis Diaz's deflected shot.
Liverpool had 22 shots to Tottenham's eight, but only three of those efforts from the Reds hit the target, with 13 blocked as Tottenham produced a doughty defensive effort.
The point took Liverpool top of the table, ahead of Manchester City on goal difference, but their title rivals have a game in hand and that comes on Sunday when Pep Guardiola's men face Newcastle United.
Klopp told BT Sport: "I'm really happy with the performance and proud of the mentality we showed against an incredibly good opponent with a game plan.
"I said before the game we have to win. I thought we had a few things today that were on a different level. The counter-press was absolutely outstanding.
"They scored a goal, and we had to keep our calm and increase the pressure. That's a massive challenge, but we did, and we scored an equaliser. It was not the result we wanted, but it was the performance I wanted, so from that point of view I'm fine."
Klopp even suggested Liverpool had it in their thoughts that they might score a goal such as the one Diaz came up with.
"We said before the game that the box would be full, so we need to give the deflection a chance," Klopp said.
His team were in midweek Champions League action, battling past Villarreal to reach the Champions League final on Tuesday night in Spain, keeping hopes of a quadruple alive.
That four-trophy bid has taken a knock, and a 12-game winning streak in the league at Anfield has been halted, but Klopp is not giving up on the dream outcome.
He said: "It's incredibly difficult to play against an opponent with world-class players and a world-class manager, and they have a full week to prepare, and we play every three days. But I'm really fine with the performance, and we will keep going.
"The dressing room is not flying at this moment, but come on, it was always clear something like this could happen. It's not that we need now tomorrow a defeat of City against Newcastle. There are other games to play, and we just have to keep going."
Neither side could be particularly happy with the final outcome, given three points for Tottenham would have lifted them to fourth, above north London rivals Arsenal who they will face on Thursday. Liverpool are back in action against Aston Villa on Tuesday.
Son said Tottenham delivered a "really good" display and described the reward as "a big point", albeit saying he was "gutted" Tottenham did not take advantage of a late chance when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was unable to find Harry Kane.
South Korean forward Son is Tottenham's leading scorer this term and took his Premier League tally for the campaign to 20, making him just the second Tottenham player to hit 20 or more goals in a season without having a penalty among the haul, after Gareth Bale in 2012-13 (21 goals).
Son has scored (12) and been involved in (17) more Premier League goals than any other player in 2022.
"It was a good team play and very proud, but it should be more," Son said. "The point is always good at Anfield, it's a really, really difficult place, but hard work has paid off."
Tottenham are itching to be involved in the Champions League next season, and whether they reach that objective may yet affect the future of key personnel.
"I want to play Champions League next season, this is clear in our minds," Son said, "so I think it was a big, big point."
Next comes the Arsenal derby, and Son said: "It's a big game like today, but we are playing at home, so we should take advantage. We need to prepare for four days and go for it, give everything we have and see what happens."
'I don't celebrate goals any more' - Postecoglou bemoans VAR after Arsenal defeat
Ange Postecoglou admitted "I don't celebrate goals any more" after VAR denied Tottenham during their north London derby defeat by Arsenal.
Spurs were beaten 3-2 by their rivals, who kept their Premier League title challenge on track, despite a late rally having trailed 3-0 at half-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own-goal, the hosts thought they had equalised when Micky van de Ven slotted past David Raya, However, the decision to award the goal was overturned following a VAR review with the defender adjudged to be offside.
Arsenal took advantage of their let-off with Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz increasing their lead, while second-half strikes from Cristiano Romero and Heung-Min Son proved academic for Tottenham.
"Games aren’t refereed in the stadium any more," Postecoglou told reporters during his post-match press conference. "I don’t celebrate goals any more.
"You've got to wait for somebody down the road. It’s a shame, I don’t like it, but I’ve got to accept it."
The Spurs boss was pleased with his side's response after the break, and hopes his players will benefit from the disappointment of losing the derby.
"It's a big day for our club and our fans, and we didn't get the outcome we wanted, so it's obviously very disappointing," he added on SpursTalk.
"You can go out in the second half and accept your fate that it's not your day, but we had to show some resilience and fight - just for our supporters more than anything else. To be fair to the lads, they did that.
"We just lacked some focus today in key moments, particularly in the first half. Sometimes, you've got to feel the pain of it to learn that lesson properly."
Arteta was 'praying' Arsenal held on for derby victory
Mikel Arteta was "praying" Arsenal clung on as the Gunners held off a late Tottenham fightback to claim a 3-2 north London derby victory on Sunday.
Arsenal looked to be cruising at 3-0 up after a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own-goal put the Gunners ahead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz extended the visitors' lead.
However, a David Raya mistake allowed Cristian Romero to cut the deficit before a Son Heung-min penalty threw Arsenal's lead into further peril after Declan Rice brought down Ben Davies.
The Gunners held on, though, despite some late pressure, a period in which Arteta conceded he was fearing the worst.
"I was praying," Arteta told reporters. "It was a really emotional game.
"3-0 up you're in control, and then an individual error happens that clicks something. We started to deal with the situation better, but they have the players to put a lot of courage forward."
Along with the derby day spoils, the win extends Arsenal's lead at the Premier League summit to four points, temporarily at least with closest rivals Manchester City taking on Nottingham Forest later on Sunday in the first of their two games in hand over the Gunners.
The destination of the title remains in the hands of Pep Guardiola's City, who overtook Arsenal last term to claim a fifth Premier League title in six seasons last term after the Gunners led for much of the way.
Arteta believes Arsenal are better-equipped this time to go on and win the title, however.
When asked if Arsenal have the ability to go all the way, Arteta replied: "100%.
"I’ve seen that the whole season. They give me reason to believe that every single day. The motivation for what is ahead is beautiful."
Rybakina eases past Sherif to reach Madrid Open last 16
Elena Rybakina cruised past Mayar Sherif in straight sets to reach the last 16 of the Madrid Open on Sunday.
World number four Rybakina rarely looked like being troubled by Sherif, easing to a 6-1 6-4 triumph, winning 22 of her 26 first-serve points on her way to victory.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion broke Sherif's serve twice in the first set to gain control of the match, before holding her serve five times in the second to ensure victory.
Also into the last 16 in Madrid are Yulia Putintseva and Daria Kasatkina, who beat Caroline Dolehide and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova respectively, both in straight sets. However, world number seven and reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is out after she was upset by Mirra Andreeva, losing 7-5 6-1.
Data debrief
In reaching the Madrid Open last 16, Rybakina again showed her class on clay. Her victory over Sherif saw her become only the fourth player in the last 10 years to win 14 straight WTA matches on clay, alongside Serena Williams, Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek.
Additionally, Rybakina's 475 winners at WTA-1000 events in 2024 are 112 more than the next best, Danielle Collins with 363.
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