Liverpool’s intensity will drop after winning EPL: Jamie Redknapp

Winning the English Premier League could prove Liverpool's biggest obstacle to retaining the Champions League.

That is the verdict of former Reds and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp, who told The New Paper yesterday that the key for boss Juergen Klopp will be to manage a likely drop in intensity after sewing up their first league title in 30 years.

Liverpool have a 22-point advantage over champions Manchester City at the EPL summit and could mathematically win the title as early as March 7, when they face Bournemouth at Anfield.

That fixture comes just four days before their Champions League last-16, second-leg clash against Atletico Madrid.

"There is no reason why Liverpool can't win the Champions League," said Redknapp, who is in town for Cadbury's Buy & Win! campaign, which offers fans the chance to win a trip to England to watch an EPL game live.

"But... the problem will come when there has to be a bit of a switch off once they win the league, which will inevitably be in the next five or six weeks...

"That's when Juergen Klopp's going to find it hard to keep motivating everybody because it won't be that easy. ..

"It's hard to keep up that intensity. And if they don't, that's not anything they should be disappointed about.

"They've just been amazing and I think the priority was to win the Premier League. It's been 30 years and that shouldn't be taken lightly."

Highlighting the difficulty in maintaining high levels of performance over long periods, the 46-year-old pointed to City, saying Liverpool's relentless pursuit of them last season is a reason for Pep Guardiola's side dropping a gear this campaign.

City pipped Liverpool to the title by just one point last season, with their 98 point-tally the second-highest in EPL history.

By their high standards, the second-placed Citizens have fallen well short of the Reds' blistering pace this season.

Explaining how the Reds have progressed as City regressed - despite there being no major signings at Anfield at the start of the season - Redknapp said: "I think maybe (it's) because of a belief in what they're doing.

"The goalkeeper (Alisson) has been there a bit longer. You got the best centre-back in the world by a long way, if not the best in Premier League history, in Virgil van Dijk.

"Every player has just gotten better under Klopp.

"Of course, you look at City... just dropping their level, but I think that's because of the pressure they were under last year.

"It was almost impossible for them to come back and sustain it. Whereas Liverpool didn't lose Vincent Kompany (and Aymeric) Laporte after a few games.

"They've had pretty much a rock-steady team. And that's why I think they've been so successful and so consistent...

"Also (for City), you're losing big players. Laporte would be the equivalent of taking van Dijk out of Liverpool.

"I've always said if you take van Dijk out of the team, you will have 15-20 points less. He's that good...

"That isn't taking anything away from Liverpool, forget City, they've only drawn one game."

Redknapp, who garnered 17 caps for England, said the Reds seem to be playing a different game from everyone else.

"They're so consistent, they're so confident in what they're doing and their work ethic is just unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it."

Despite that, he cautioned against expecting a period of sustained success for his former club, like the one enjoyed by Manchester United during his 1991-2002 stint on Merseyside.

STAY, KLOPP

He said: "You never know in football. If Klopp decides in a year or two that 'I've done everything I can at Liverpool. I want to go back and manage Bayern Munich,' then you've got a major problem.

"If van Dijk wants to go to Barcelona, these are people you can't replace.

"I don't think in the Premier League now teams will be able to dominate for long, because of the money in the league.

"It's not that easy for one team to consistently win the title, as it's been shown - we've had Chelsea, Leicester, Arsenal, and Man United win the Premier League.

"But I'd certainly be nervous of Liverpool because of the qualities they have.

"And as long as the manager's there, then you have to believe anything is possible."

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