Jurgen Klopp Warns Liverpool's Title Rivals the Reds Aren't 'At Their Top Level'

Jurgen Klopp may have seen his Liverpool side pick up four wins from four to kick off the 2018-19 Premier League season, but he feels there is much more to come from his team. 

The Reds have beaten West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City, scoring nine goals and conceding just once in the process, but Klopp warned their title rivals they're not yet at their best.

Per the Mirror's David Maddock, he said:

"The players are not at their top level yet. That is because we are in the early part of the season. It is normal.

"Everybody should know we have a lot of work to do still, but if they don’t then I have told them.

"When you win four times it sounds really crazy to say this, but it is still part of the pre-season for a very long time after the summer.

"From mid-September, we play every three days. So we do the work now, and this is how it is—it is normal that you are not quite at 100 per cent in the games."

The Reds are one of three Premier League teams to boast a 100 per cent record heading into the international break, along with Chelsea and surprise package Watford, though they're at the top courtesy of their superior goal difference.

Football writers Joel Rabinowitz and Leanne Prescott agree with Klopp's assessment and feel positive about the team's ability to win despite not being at their best:

While keeping three clean sheets from four matches and taking all 12 points available is a strong start, the Reds are capable of much more.

Of their four opponents, Leicester are the only side who finished in the top half last year, and in that match Liverpool weren't particularly convincing. Aside from a poor start to the game, which saw them concede early, the Foxes were perhaps the better side for the majority of the contest.

Liverpool's front three haven't quite reached top gear yet, either.

They've hardly endured a poor start to the season, given Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah have three goals and three assists between them and Sadio Mane has found the net four times, but they've not been tearing teams apart in the way we know they can.

Klopp will be hoping his side hit top form soon, though, as difficult fixtures will come thick and fast after the international break:

If they play as they did against Leicester in those matches they'll struggle to maintain their strong start for much longer, but as the weeks go by they likely will see an improvement on that performance.

What's more, in the Premier League at least, their perfect start gives them a little wiggle room should they drop any points.