Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne for adding goals to his playmaking ability after notching another strike against Liverpool on Sunday.

De Bruyne netted after just five minutes in the crunch Premier League title clash, his sixth goal in as many games, while he found the net in four straight matches in all competitions for the first time for City.

Diogo Jota soon cancelled out that opener, as did Sadio Mane early in the second half after Gabriel Jesus had restored City's lead, leaving Guardiola's side still a point clear of fellow title contenders Liverpool.

The Catalan coach acknowledged that City cannot afford to lose any of their remaining seven league games and heaped praise on De Bruyne, who has 11 goals and three assists in the league this term.

"He has been in this level for many years – when we won the Premier League with 100 points that Kevin was incredible," Guardiola told reporters at his post-match news conference.

"He struggled the first part of this season with injuries a lot, with the national team and he needed time. But now he is strong, he is back and he is creating chances.

"I like it a lot. He is not just a player to make assists – now he scores a lot of goals. I've said to him many times, 'I know you enjoy making a lot of assists, for you and your team-mates, but you have to score goals to reach another stage'.

"Now he is doing that, a lot of goals and chances. The position today he played was so difficult against Liverpool because they are so tight and so narrow; there are no gaps or space.

"But he can run, he finds space, and his vision in the final third is magical."

Guardiola will hope De Bruyne can keep delivering when City head to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday, which they lead 1-0, before an FA Cup semi-final with Liverpool three days later.

Pep Guardiola suggested Manchester City missed the chance to claim victory when on top against Liverpool and insisted his side must win all their remaining Premier League games otherwise the title race will be over.

Liverpool were as far as 14 points behind in mid-January, but a 10-game winning run in the league slashed City's lead to just one point to set up what was billed as the title decider at the Etihad Stadium.

Kevin De Bruyne struck after just five minutes with his sixth goal in as many games on Sunday, before Diogo Jota soon restored parity in a thrilling end-to-end affair.

Gabriel Jesus then found the net against Liverpool for a fifth time in all competitions, only scoring more for City against Everton (eight), to send Jurgen Klopp's side in at half-time trailing in the league for the first time this season.

Sadio Mane immediately levelled after the interval to keep the title race alive and Guardiola called on City to win their remaining seven games to win the league.

"Both teams wanted to try to win, we did everything we could but unfortunately we could not win," he told Sky Sports.

"I had the feeling we handed them a life, but listen Liverpool is a joy to watch and the threats they have in attack, how good they are, so no doubts about how difficult they are.

"But I think we performed really, really well, I'm so incredibly proud of my team. Now, both teams know with seven games left we have to win all of them, otherwise it will be over.

"In Anfield, we played an incredible first half and it was the same result, I had the feeling we missed an opportunity to get three points but it doesn't matter what happened this game, this was never going to be over.

"I would say the same with defeat, or victory, this was massive game to take advantage of, but we know what we have to do.

"Go to [Atletico] Madrid [in the Champions League quarter-final return leg], then FA Cup [semi-final against Liverpool] then back to the Premier League and win as many as possible.

"Seven games in the Premier League is a lot to play, it will be tough, I don't know whether we are going to win the title at the end of the season but to be in the game, like we played today, it makes me admire a lot to perform that way."

Guardiola also hailed the work of Jesus, who has scored four times against Klopp's Liverpool in the Premier League, as he explained his match-by-match plan for each specific opponent.

"Gabriel Jesus deserves to play a lot, he is a fantastic person but all of them, [Ilkay] Gundogan, Ruben [Dias] they all have quality but we thought we could find spaces with the players we put out for the way they pressed today," he added.

"Maybe next Saturday [in the FA Cup semi-final] from what we saw, maybe we change something. I put out a specially specific line-up for the demands of the team we are going to play, not because of who I prefer."

Klopp and Guardiola are familiar foes, given their time spent managing Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Germany, and the Spaniard expressed his admiration for his opposite number.

"Listen, I don't know if Jurgen respects me but I respect him a lot, he has made me a better manager with his sides in Germany with Bayern and Dortmund, and then here," he added.

"His teams are always positive and want to attack, I try to imitate him in that sense. We are not friends, we don't have dinner together, I don't call him but I have a lot of respect for him, but he knows next Saturday I'm going to try and beat him."

Captain Jordan Henderson was delighted with Liverpool's character after they twice came from behind in an absorbing 2-2 draw with Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

The England midfielder was nevertheless disappointed with the Reds' defending as an absorbing draw kept Jurgen Klopp's team one point behind City at the summit, with seven rounds of games remaining.

Liverpool are now winless in their last five Premier League matches against City (three draws, two losses), their joint-longest run without a victory against them along with a five-game run between November 2011 and December 2013.

However, Henderson was keen to stress the importance of remaining in touch with Guardiola's men after Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane cancelled out goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus.

"It was an intense game, which we knew it would be," Henderson said. "We knew it would be tough coming here, they're a fantastic team, but we wanted to come here and give everything to try and get the win.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't do that, but at the same time, we didn't lose the game. Of course, we wanted to do better, but it's not the end of the world, we're still in the race. [There are] positives and negatives."

Liverpool were second-best for much of the first half at the Etihad Stadium, twice going behind and seeing the likes of Raheem Sterling and De Bruyne miss chances to extend City's lead.

However, the Reds skipper commended the response to going behind, with Mane's goal levelling the game at 2-2 just 46 seconds after the break.

"I think we started okay, but we were a bit hectic at times, trying to clear it rather than getting it down and trying to play, and we gave them one or two chances early on," Henderson told Sky Sports.

"We knew we were going to come under pressure early on. They're a fantastic team, and we knew they'd come out fast.

"After they scored we settled down, started playing more, and that caused them one or two problems, and we ended up getting the goal from that.

"That was pleasing, how we've come twice from behind. It takes a lot of character to do that here, but we wanted to do better with the [City] goals."

Mane's goal marked the first time Liverpool had scored in the opening minute of the second half in a Premier League game since January 2019 (Mohamed Salah against Crystal Palace), and the first time City have conceded a league goal in the 46th minute since doing so to Norwich City's Damien Francis in November 2004.

After the two teams drew by the same scoreline at Anfield earlier in the campaign, City and Liverpool have drawn both of their Premier League meetings for the first time since doing so in the 2012-13 season, but Henderson refused to be drawn on whether the result helped City more than the Reds.

"We'll have to wait and see [if the draw was better for City], I suppose," he added.

"They don't drop many points, we know that, but for us, we've got to concentrate on ourselves, win as many games as possible, and if they do slip up we've got to be there right behind them.

"It's not the end of the world, we'll stay positive and keep going until the end."

Jamie Carragher hailed Liverpool’s "mentality" after they twice fought back to seal a 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday.

The Reds remain just a point behind Pep Guardiola's side with seven games remaining after Sadio Mane's goal early in the second half.

Diogo Jota had earlier cancelled out Kevin de Bruyne's deflected opener, before Gabriel Jesus restored City's advantage.

Mane's fine strike meant City had scored the first goal and not gone on to win in the Premier League this season for the first time this season, the reigning champions having done so in all 22 games when scoring first prior to the visit of Jurgen Klopp's men.

Carragher, who made 737 appearances for Liverpool between 1996 and 2013, was impressed with his former's side ability to dig in for a draw after being blown away by City in the first half.

"From Liverpool's point of view, the mentality to come out in the second half and turn it around after that first-half display was impressive," he said on Sky Sports.

"It looked like they didn't have any energy in the first half, but their mindset changed. I don't think they did anything particularly different. They still played a high line.

"Considering how good City were in the first half, to then come out and give that performance and match them – maybe be even better than them for the first 30 minutes in the second half – was so impressive."

The result meant Liverpool are now winless in five Premier League matches against City (D3 L2), which is their joint-longest run without a victory against them along with a five-game run between November 2011 and December 2013.

Despite that, former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane said Klopp's men deserve plenty of credit for their performance. 

"We saw today the different qualities, City outstanding first half and Liverpool showed their quality second half," he said. "All the talk was it would not be decided today [the title] but they played like it was going to be. It was like a final. I think a draw was a fair result.

"What impressed me with all these top-quality players was their desire to keep going for their win at the end. No team was going to dominate for long spells as there is so much quality on both sides.

"Liverpool showed their character in the second half. But then City had great chances as well. A great reminder to us all of what this game is about."

It was billed as the title decider of all title deciders, a clash of titans to determine who would go on to win the Premier League, and yet at the end of 90 breathtaking minutes it remains as you were.

Manchester City, for all their attacking intent and brave play, could not find a killer knockout punch against Liverpool and so it will all come down to the final seven games and who can hold their nerve.

The Citizens have the advantage given they retain a one-point lead, but Pep Guardiola will feel his team deserved more, and Jurgen Klopp can still dream of a quadruple after what he described as a "wild" game.

As it turns out, fortune does not always necessarily favour the brave – though credit must also go to Liverpool for themselves contributing to another Premier League classic between these heavyweights.

It became clear an hour before kick-off that Guardiola would be true to his word: City had no intention of playing for a point in the biggest game of a thrilling campaign that had seen the chasers close the gap on the leaders from 14 points to just one heading into this showdown.

With Gabriel Jesus recalled for his first league start since New Year's Day in an attack that also included Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, City were out for blood against a Liverpool side on a 10-game winning run in the competition.

For a manager now famed for over-thinking his team selection, this was a masterstroke from Guardiola. De Bruyne and Jesus were on the scoresheet, the latter ending a run of 37 shots without scoring in the competition, while Sterling had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR.

But the reward at the end of it all was only a point as Liverpool, who went with the line-up many had been expecting, twice hit back to ensure this enthralling title race has another chapter of drama still to come.

Five minutes was all it took for City's attacking approach to pay off. Moments after Sterling was denied by Alisson from close range, De Bruyne's long-range strike – via a telling deflection off Joel Matip – went in off the post to give the reigning champions lift-off.

That was the 10th goal City have scored in the opening 10 minutes of Premier League games this season, each of the last four netted by De Bruyne in the fifth minute – a remarkable quirk. The outcome when City have taken the lead, regardless of the minute, had always been the same: won 22, drawn none, lost none.

The title race was over, on that basis. Except of course it wasn't.

Diogo Jota's leveller eight minutes later, following brilliant interplay between full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, had Liverpool back on level terms in a match that lived up to its pre-match billing. Did you really expect anything else?

If the previous omens had been stacked in City's favour, now Liverpool had something similar to cling to given Jota had not lost in any of the previous 32 Premier League games in which he had scored. Make that 33 on a day when Klopp's own selection calls were justified by the final result.

Jota's record was under threat when City continued to probe with more intent than their rivals and regained the lead through Jesus, who got on the end of Joao Cancelo's pass in behind Alexander-Arnold and finished past Alisson.

Trailing in a Premier League game at half-time for the first time in exactly a year, when coming back to beat Aston Villa, Liverpool needed just 46 seconds of the second half to level through a Sadio Mane goal assisted by Mohamed Salah – the Egypt international's 159th Premier League goal involvement for the Reds, a tally only Steven Gerrard (212) can better.

It was the first time City had conceded in the first minute of the second half in a league game since November 2004 against Norwich City, though once again their response did not take long to arrive, albeit with Sterling's finish against his former club rightly ruled out for offside.

That attacking intent remained clear to see when Riyad Mahrez replaced Sterling, rather than a more cautious option being introduced, and the Algeria international twice went close to winning the game when clipping the post from a free-kick and chipping over both Alisson and the crossbar when through on goal from the final act of the game.

And so for all the to-ing and fro-ing, 2-2, and one point the gap between the sides, is how it remained come a full-time whistle that no neutral was ready to hear. A second meeting between these sides this season, a second four-goal thriller, and still there is next to nothing to separate perhaps the two greatest sides in world football.

It sets up a tense and intriguing final six weeks of the season and, the best of all, we get to do it all over again when the sides face off in an FA Cup semi-final next Saturday.

Unlike on this blockbuster day of Premier League football, there has to be a winner at Wembley.

Kevin De Bruyne believes Manchester City had the upper hand in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool as he called on his side to produce similar performances with seven Premier League games left to play.

City needed just five minutes to edge ahead when De Bruyne, via a deflection from Joel Matip and the right post, cannoned in his sixth goal in as many games before Diogo Jota equalised.

Gabriel Jesus restored the lead in the first half for Pep Guardiola's side with his fifth goal in all competitions against Liverpool, only scoring more for City against Everton (eight).

That was the first time Liverpool had trailed at half-time in the league all season, but Sadio Mane levelled immediately after the break at the Etihad Stadium to keep the title race alive.

City remain a point clear of Jurgen Klopp's side and, with a return leg in their Champions League quarter-final with Atletico Madrid and an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, De Bruyne urged his team to play as well as they did on Sunday.

"It was hard. I think we played excellent. I know we conceded two goals but the way we played today was very good; we should have scored more but it is what it is and we keep going," the Belgium star told Sky Sports.

"I think we should [have won]. Obviously the way the second half started that is the disappointment but we know in a couple of chances that Liverpool can score.

"We created enough chances to win the game but it didn't happen.

"I think it demonstrated how close it is between the two teams, but we played really well and had the upper hand even if we didn't win – that can happen. This is the way we need to play and approach the other games."

As for whether the clash at the Etihad Stadium would decide the destination of the title, De Bruyne suggested City had not secured the advantage by earning the draw.

"No, I think it is similar. I know a lot of people spoke saying whoever wins the game wins the title, but I don't think either team would think that way – it's way too hard," he responded when asked if the result was decisive.

"The schedule is way too hard for both teams to win all the games, so we're going to try, but I think the way we showed today was the way we need to move forward."

Substitute Riyad Mahrez could have snatched victory in the closing stages but wastefully chipped over, though De Bruyne holds no grudges.

"It's a clear chance, obviously. Riyad chose to chip the goalkeeper and if it goes in it's a wonder goal, but it didn't go in today, so that's it," he said.

Sadio Mane kept Liverpool in the Premier League title hunt with a priceless second-half equaliser in a gripping 2-2 draw with leaders Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp's side sat 14 points behind City in January, but a 10-game winning run cut the gap to just one point to set up what many billed as a title decider at the Etihad Stadium.

Diogo Jota cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne's opener in an enthralling start, and Mane followed suit swiftly after the interval following Gabriel Jesus' 36th-minute strike.

Neither side could find a winner, with Raheem Sterling seeing a goal disallowed, as Pep Guardiola's side kept their slender lead intact with seven games left to play.

Sterling squandered a glorious chance after five minutes as he was denied by the onrushing Alisson following a square Jesus pass, but City were ahead just seconds later.

De Bruyne profited from a quick Bernardo Silva free-kick before arrowing a left-footed effort home, the ball going in off the right post following a fortuitous deflection off Joel Matip.

Liverpool responded within eight minutes, with Andy Robertson finding Trent Alexander-Arnold, who played the ball back from the far post for Jota to squeeze a low strike under Ederson.

De Bruyne whipped narrowly wide in search of his second before Jesus latched onto a Joao Cancelo cross and coolly finished via the underside of the crossbar.

Mane levelled up within a minute of the second half getting under way, racing onto Mohamed Salah's throughball to slot powerfully past Ederson, who thwarted Jota's prodded effort shortly after.

Sterling thought he had nudged the hosts ahead again, but a VAR check showed the forward was offside when De Bruyne passed the ball, while Salah curled just off target at the other end.

Substitute Riyad Mahrez provided a late scare for the visitors as he clipped the post with a free-kick, and then chipped over after a sublime De Bruyne pass, but there would be no decisive goal.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool's assists king – and he emphasised his creative threat when setting up Diogo Jota for an early equaliser at Manchester City on Sunday.

The attacking right-back played Andy Robertson's cross back to striker Jota, who beat Ederson to cancel out Kevin De Bruyne's deflected fifth-minute strike.

The 13th-minute leveller meant Alexander-Arnold has now had an assist for a Liverpool goal against all 19 of their current Premier League rivals.

He is the only player to have completed a full set of assists against the current group of teams in the English top flight, Opta said.

It was his 12th assist of the Premier League season, which is a league high, and meant he was one short of matching his best tally in the competition (13 in 2019-20).

City restored their lead by half-time, with Gabriel Jesus putting the home side 2-1 in front at the Etihad Stadium.

Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden were recalled to Manchester City's starting line-up for Sunday's Premier League clash against Liverpool, with the Reds making three changes.

Brazil international Jesus made his first league start since City's New Year's Day win against Arsenal in place of the benched Riyad Mahrez.

Foden made an instant impact from the substitutes' bench by assisting Kevin De Bruyne's winner against Atletico Madrid in midweek and was rewarded with a place in the XI.

He had scored in each of his past three top-flight games against Liverpool, including a goal in October's 2-2 draw at Anfield in the reverse fixture.

Kyle Walker was also included from the beginning, with Ilkay Gundogan and Nathan Ake the other two players to make way from City's European win against Atletico.

Ruben Dias missed out through injury as expected, meaning John Stones again partnered Aymeric Laporte in the heart of defence at the Etihad Stadium.

Liverpool also brought in three new faces from their 3-1 Champions League win against Benfica in midweek for what was billed as a likely Premier League title decider.

Diogo Jota replaced Luis Diaz alongside Sadio Mane and the out-of-form Mohamed Salah up top, while skipper Jordan Henderson took over from Naby Keita in midfield.

Salah had scored in four of his last five Premier League games against Man City, including each of his last three in a row.

The Reds' other change saw Joel Matip recalled alongside Virgil van Dijk in place of Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool entered the contest on a 10-game winning run in the Premier League, which had seen them close the gap on the leaders to just a point ahead of Sunday's huge clash.

City had lost just one of their past 12 home league games against Liverpool ahead of their latest showdown, going down 4-1 at the Etihad in November 2015.

The Reds were also without a clean sheet in any of their past 11 Premier League away meetings with City since a goalless draw in February 2010.

Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Cancelo, Stones, Laporte; De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva; Sterling, Foden, Jesus.

Subs: Steffen, Mahrez, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, McAtee, Lavia, Grealish, Gundogan, Ake.

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Jota.

Subs: Kelleher, Jones, Tsimikas, Konate, Gomez, Milner, Keita, Firmino, Diaz.

Liverpool great Dietmar Hamann questioned the hype surrounding Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as he insisted Reds' boss Jurgen Klopp ranks above the Spaniard.

City welcome Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a match widely billed as a title decider, with Klopp's side cutting the leaders' gap to just one point following a 10-game winning run.

Whether it's Trent Alexander-Arnold against Joao Cancelo, Alisson versus Ederson or the influence of Mohamed Salah compared to Kevin De Bruyne, there are battles to be won across the pitch in Manchester.

But there will also be a focus on the touchline, with Guardiola facing old foe Klopp, who has defeated the former Bayern Munich boss more than any other manager in all competitions (eight).

The German tactician has only lost as many matches against Felix Magath (8) in his coaching career as he has against Guardiola, but Hamann placed his backing firmly on the Liverpool manager.

"When Klopp arrived at Anfield in 2015 and Guardiola at City a year later, the Premier League was hugely competitive and hard to win," he wrote in his Daily Mail column. 

"In just a few years they have turned it into a two-horse race. I simply wouldn't have thought it was possible for two teams to dominate the Premier League in the way they have.

"But there are three current managers who I regard as more successful than Guardiola and I still don't really get the hype that surrounds him.

"Jose Mourinho has won league titles in four different countries and the Champions League with two clubs, while Carlo Ancelotti's record is second to none and about to get better if Real Madrid can win La Liga.

"And the third manager? For me, it's Jurgen Klopp. What he has achieved on the budgets he has at Liverpool is remarkable. He is a truly exceptional manager. His great skill is in integrating players which is a talent Guardiola doesn't possess in quite the same way."

Since Guardiola's arrival in England at the start of the 2016-17 season, City have taken a league-high 516 points and Liverpool are close behind with 488 points. Chelsea are a distant third on that list with 427 points.

But Hamann, who played for both Liverpool and City during his playing career, still believes Klopp holds the edge over Guardiola, due to how he adapts to his new signings, such as Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz.

"When Klopp signed Diogo Jota last season everyone questioned whether he would get anywhere near the team, but he was immediately involved," he continued. "It's been exactly the same with Luis Diaz.

"In fact, compare the case of Diaz to Jack Grealish and it goes some way to showing the difference between the managers.

"We've seen players come into the Premier League and you often need six to eight weeks to adjust because it's a unique game. Diaz came in and he fired immediately because the style suits him.

"Look on the other side, you've got Grealish, who cost three times as much yet is struggling to make any sort of an impact. He's a £100million player yet he still isn't fully integrated.

"The way Liverpool players speak about their manager, they would run through brick walls for him. I'm not sure City's players would do the same.

"You look at all the teams around Europe and I think Liverpool are the pick of the lot. And I wouldn't swap this manager for any other. Including Guardiola."

Pep Guardiola says he will cherish the memories of Manchester City's rivalry with Liverpool when the Spaniard eventually calls time on his stay at the Etihad Stadium.

The two sides meet in a blockbuster Premier League clash in the battle for the title on Sunday, with the champions leading the in-form Reds by just a point.

It will be the first of two encounters between Guardiola and long-time managerial rival Jurgen Klopp this month, with the pair then set to square off in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

They could also lock horns in the Champions League, as both clubs lead their quarter-final ties after the first leg.

Guardiola continues to relish pitting his wits against Liverpool boss Klopp.

"In my period here, what I will remember is the rivalry with Liverpool," he told Sky Sports. "That's for sure. We raised the standards.

"We got 100 points, before that the example was around 80 to 91. After we got 100 it was 98, Liverpool with 97 and then 99.

"So now teams know you have to go 90-100 points to have the chance to be champion. We write that level, and we pushed each other.

"Sir Alex [Ferguson, with Manchester United] and [Arsene] Wenger [with Arsenal] were there so many years together - 26 and 22 - we are here with less time doing this."

Liverpool have already won the EFL Cup this term and are eyeing an unprecedented quadruple.

The Merseyside club have won 10 consecutive Premier League games and Guardiola knows City will have their work cut out trying to keep their potent forwards quiet.

"The threats that they have in front - they had an incredible three players [in Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino]," he added.

"Now [they have] an incredible five with Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, plus Divock Origi who always scores when they need to make decisive goals.

"We don't have a proper striker, but it is what it is. We still score a lot of goals in our way, we still concede few, so we're going to continue to do it."

Mohamed Salah is beginning to believe Liverpool can win an unprecedented quadruple and has told team-mates to "enjoy it and go for everything". 

Speculation over his Anfield future is adding a soap opera element to Liverpool's push for titles on all fronts, as it remains to be seen whether the Egyptian signs a new contract. 

That is a distraction Liverpool and Salah are trying to push aside for the moment, with an intense schedule of games meaning there is scant time to deal with such matters. 

Salah will be the player Liverpool look to again on Sunday when Jurgen Klopp's team tackle Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in a game that is being dubbed, rather preemptively, as a title decider. 

Liverpool trail City by one point and both will have seven matches remaining after Sunday, with City not having to face any side currently in the top five across those remaining games. 

It makes it perhaps imperative that Liverpool do win in Manchester, and Salah said: "We know how to play big games. Hopefully we will win the next game but if you ask me about advantage, they have more of an advantage because they are a point ahead and are at home. 

"The most important thing for us is not to lose the game, but if we lose the gap is going to be bigger." 

Salah is the Premier League's top scorer with 20 goals, albeit he has not netted from open play in his last eight games for Liverpool. 

He has not quite maximised the chances that have come his way this season, given his expected goals (xG) total of 21.7 exceeds the number of times he has found the net. Last season he scored 22 Premier League goals from an xG total of 19.3. 

Team-mates Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane have 14 and 12 Premier League goals respectively this term, with Liverpool the competition's highest scorers with 77 goals from 30 games. 

Salah has scored in four of his previous five Premier League games against City, including each of his last three in a row, but Liverpool are winless in their past four against Pep Guardiola's side in the competition (D2 L2). 

This time they believe it can be different. Liverpool have won each of their last 10 Premier League games, keeping eight clean sheets in this run, and with the EFL Cup already secured, Klopp's team are closing in on glory in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. 

City are their FA Cup semi-final opponents, and the teams could even meet in the Champions League final. 

Salah senses the chance to make trophy history, saying: "We wish we can do four. We've never done four before. This season we are really close and we are in top form. 

"We've won the last 10 games in the Premier League so we are in a good way, and hopefully we can win the next game. 

"We look at this situation now and we just have to enjoy it. We can't be in this situation and feel pressure. We just have to enjoy it and go for everything." 

Klopp's team are 3-1 up in their Champions League quarter-final against Benfica, ahead of the second leg on Wednesday, as the big games keep coming. 

"Our programme is insane," said the Reds manager. "We play City, Benfica, City, [Manchester] United and Everton. They all will hope if we win one of the City games we will celebrate for three or four days, but we will not." 

Liverpool have nothing to lose in their engrossing Premier League title battle with Manchester City, according to former Reds defender Jose Enrique.

Jurgen Klopp's side trailed City by 14 points on January 15, but 10 wins in a row has moved them within a point of the leaders with eight matches to go.

Liverpool beat Watford on Saturday to move above their rivals for the first time since November 27, but City reclaimed top spot later in the day with victory at Burnley.

The two sides face off at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in what is being billed as a title decider, and Jose Enrique insists Liverpool are under less pressure than their opponents.

"Before there was a 14-point difference and now they are stuck with Manchester City, so it depends on the fight," the Spaniard, who spent five years at Anfield, told Stats Perform. 

"I think Liverpool have an advantage because they have nothing to lose. In January everything seemed lost and now they are there and it will be very nice. 

"Hopefully they win everything, but if it's just the Premier League or the Champions League it's going to be a very good season."

Indeed, like opponents City, Liverpool are still in the hunt to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, on top of the EFL Cup they have already secured.

The Reds have been in particularly good form in 2022 and Jose Enrique believes the addition of Luis Diaz in January helped the club's relentless quest for a quadruple.

"April will be the month in which everything will be defined, although the Champions League final is later, and first you have to get there," he said. 

"But in April everything is played: Manchester City, the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and we will have to see what happens. The team is going to go all out. 

"The signing of Luis Diaz in January did the team a lot of good on a mental level because they needed a player who could compete with the other three and also Diogo Jota."

Jack Grealish will prove a good signing for Manchester City, says David James, even if the former England goalkeeper remains unsure whether the playmaker has lived up to his record-breaking price tag.

Grealish became the most expensive British transfer of all time when he moved to the Premier League champions from Aston Villa for £100million last year.

While the 26-year-old has not been at the sparkling best he showed during his time at Villa, he has made 31 appearances across all competitions, starting 26 times.

Those appearances have yielded only four goals, with Pep Guardiola happy to utilise Grealish as a rotation option, with City still in with a chance of a domestic and European treble.

Though Grealish's price tag hangs over his head, ex-City man James believes helping deliver more silverware will make the transfer worthwhile.

"You can't ignore the money," James told Stats Perform. "But there wouldn't be a value or a price tag which would arguably justify either way whether it was a good or bad signing.

"Grealish has been heavily involved in Manchester City's games this season. [They are] top of the league, [in the] quarter-finals of the Champions League and semi-finals of the FA Cup.

"Jack Grealish has been involved in that. He's part of the team which has been very successful at the moment. It's a good signing."

Grealish directly contributed to 16 Premier League goals last season at Villa (six goals, 10 assists), but that figure stands at just four so far this term (two goals, two assists).

He crafted 81 chances in total last season in the top flight, at an average of 3.3 per 90 minutes. That has dropped to 43 so far this season (2.5 per 90).

But James believes the switch has shown new shades to Grealish's game, such as having to become more of a team player in a squad packed with stars.

"The thing that I like more about Jack is that there's a different side to his game than what he had [at] Aston Villa," he added.

"As influential as he was, it was almost like they needed Jack to make Aston Villa work. [City] don't need in the same sense. They don't need Jack at Manchester City for Man City to work.

"He has to be part of the bigger team, which I think he's done successfully. I think he's been a successful signing.

"If City are to win the league, [if] they are to win the Champions League [and if they are] to win the FA Cup, then a big part of that will be Jack Grealish being in the club."

Diego Simeone says he does not care what others think in response to criticism of his methods following Atletico Madrid's Champions League loss to Manchester City.

Atleti slumped to a first-leg defeat at Etihad Stadium against Pep Guardiola's side, after Kevin De Bruyne struck in the second half to secure a 1-0 advantage in the quarter-final tie.

Simeone's side failed to register a single shot throughout the match, becoming the first team for a decade to do so in the competition in the process, after APOEL in 2012.

That performance prompted criticism from ex-Atleti coach Arrigo Sacchi.

Simeone's approach was the subject of intense scrutiny from Sacchi, who bemoaned that the Argentine's defensive capabilities had turned his team of title-winners into a "boring" team.

But speaking ahead of his side's trip to Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday, Simeone stated he does not care to listen to their verdicts.

"I don't think what others think," he responded when asked about criticism of his approach. "Everyone has their own thoughts, everyone is respectable.

"From humility, [we have to] keep working and do our best for Atletico Madrid. We cannot value what people from outside may think or speak."

Atleti also look set to face repercussions from fan discord during their midweek defeat, after UEFA confirmed they had opened an investigation into the club's supporters.

"Disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in accordance with Article 55 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations," read an official statement from the governing body.

"The charges against Club Atletico de Madrid [are] discriminatory behaviour [under] Article 14 [and] throwing of objects [under] Article 16(2)(b).

"The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) will decide on the matter in due course."