Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool may have got their preparations wrong for their last game with Manchester City.
The Reds lost 4-0 at City in July, one week after clinching their first Premier League title.
The sides meet again on Sunday (16:30 GMT) at Etihad Stadium with Liverpool knowing a win will take them back to the top of the table.
“It was the first time we had won the league so I had no idea how to prepare the next game,” said Reds boss Klopp.
“I didn’t want to overdo it and say ‘Forget what happened three days ago or so – now it’s City and we can show the whole world’.
“I am not sure if that was right or wrong. I know my boys wanted to win that game but we were not as focused as we are usually in these games.”
Liverpool are currently behind leaders Southampton on goal difference, with City five points back in 11th place.
Klopp has beaten Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola more times than any other manager – with nine wins in 19 games, including in Germany, where they managed Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich respectively.
“We should meet much more often but I’m happy we don’t because of the quality his teams have,” said Klopp.
“I am not aware of any records but I knew we met from time to time and we didn’t lose all of them but the games were incredibly difficult.”
‘Sterling is an exceptional player’ – Guardiola
City boss Guardiola, who worked with Lionel Messi at Barcelona, says Raheem Sterling is one of the best players he has ever managed.
The 25-year-old, who joined City from Liverpool in 2015, has scored five goals in 11 games this season for his club.
“I think he is a better player than when he arrived and hopefully in four years he will be a better player than he is right now. I think he is an exceptional player,” said Guardiola.
“He has played all these minutes because of his physicality and [on Sunday] he will be there again.
“Of course there will be a moment he will take a rest but at the moment he is so important a player for us, that’s why we cannot give it.
“He is one of the [most] fantastic players I ever had in my career as a manager.”
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