Jurgen Klopp has insisted the Champions League is as important as the Premier League for Liverpool this season.
The Reds are in a relentless title race with Manchester City, and perhaps even Tottenham, as they search for a first league crown in 1990.
Exits in both the FA Cup and League Cup have been met with shrugs of the shoulders by many supporters, with the importance of league glory outweighing everything.
There have even been suggestions that the prestigious Champions League could also be seen as a distraction, as Liverpool prepare to face Bayern Munich over two legs.
This is an opinion that Klopp has swatted aside, however, telling the Guardian that he views the competition as equally vital, having lost in cruel fashion to Real Madrid in last season’s final:
We will try [to go for both], for sure. That is what we tried last year.
There was the discussion this year when people said we should focus only on the league so now we are still in the Champions League and I am quite happy about it.
We have a very difficult game yet listening to some people it seems we are already through because ‘It’s only Bayern Munich’.
Have you looked at the team they have or how they are in shape now after the winter break?
We will be ready for the Champions League and a very, very tough game. This is the Champions League – one game and then two weeks before we play them again.
We always play the league and the Champions League is then a little sweet in between and we will go for it with all we have. That is normal.
Liverpool head to West Ham for a vital league clash on Monday night, hoping to go five points clear at the top again.
