LONDON • Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has conceded five goals in his last three Premier League matches after letting in five in the 12 before that.
A case of nerves creeping in, perhaps?
No way, insists the Brazilian, who is adamant that his side's confidence has not taken a dent despite the Reds being knocked off top spot for the first time in two months.
Frustrating 1-1 draws in their last two league games against Leicester City and West Ham have allowed defending champions Manchester City to leapfrog them after their 2-0 win over Everton on Wednesday, although Pep Guardiola's side have played an extra game.
"We believe we can win the league," Alisson told Sky Sports ahead of today's home game against Bournemouth. "We've shown in the past that we're good enough and we'll continue to show this in the games we've got to come.
"Our pressure is the same. We take things game by game without worrying about what our opponents are doing. Everyone wants to win this league but, at Liverpool, our concern is winning games and not dropping points.
"We don't think about Man City, we think about ourselves. We only think about what we can do and how things are moving forward.
"To get back to the top of the league, we need to win games. That comes from hard work, starting on Saturday."
Part of Jurgen Klopp's hard work is to find a way of harnessing the desperation to end a title drought of nearly three decades positively, rather than letting the nerves of what promises to be a thrilling run-in become a hindrance.
Tension is already apparent in the stands as much as on the pitch, after the unexpected slip-ups of the past week.
"You get that feeling as well from the crowd and it's not really necessary at the moment," said defender Virgil van Dijk. "Obviously everyone wants to win so bad and that's what we want as well but sometimes you need to be very patient."
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Liverpool have lost just once to Bournemouth in 14 meetings (10 wins, three draws).
Klopp also admitted after being held at West Ham on Monday that his side need to "enjoy" the ride rather than fearing the consequences of missing out.
"It's not about pressure, it's about enjoying the situation you are in," he said. "We have 62 points, have lost one game in the whole season so far, which is very positive."
Another positive sign is that his injury worries have eased, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson returning to training on Thursday.
Defenders Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez, and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, remain sidelined.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool yesterday announced a world-record profit of £106 million (S$186 million).
In their yearly financial results, they made an annual pre-tax profit of £125 million - up from £40 million - as turnover increased in the 12 months to May 2018 by £90 million to £455 million, also a record.
They were boosted by a run to the Champions League final last season, which earned an estimated £72 million, and were helped by midfielder Philippe Coutinho's £142 million transfer to Barcelona in January 2018.
Leicester City had held the record for net (post-tax) profit of £80 million in 2016-17 (£92 million pre-tax) after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 2017.
In revenue terms, Liverpool will leapfrog Arsenal into third place in the Premier League, behind Manchester United and City.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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