Dejan Lovren has claimed that Liverpool are genuine Premier League title contenders following their Merseyside derby win over Everton.
The Reds snatched the spoils in the 227th clash with their local rivals courtesy of Sadio Mane’s strike in the fourth minute of added time at Goodison Park.
Six points now separate Jurgen Klopp’s side from leaders Chelsea at the summit as they look to bridge that gap further in a run of games over the festive period.
But Lovren believes that Liverpool have already proved their credentials as the season nears its halfway point.
He said: “There are a lot of games in front of us and it will change many times, but games like this you need to win if you want to stay in the race for the title.
“We are in second so we can say yes (we are in the race).
“It is about the team’s defensive qualities. We have been working very hard together and just now we are in good form and we need to keep going like that.
“We missed something in the first half, but we had a good quality talk from the manager at half time and he was asking us to play more direct football.
“If you want to win you need to be more offensive and ask for the ball. In the second half we showed our real face and deserved it.”