Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool 'Need to Be Close to Perfection' to Overhaul Man City

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said his side will "need to be very, very close to perfection" if they are to beat Manchester City to the Premier League title in the future.

The Reds fell just short of becoming champions in 2018-19 despite losing just one game all season and amassing 97 points. 

They beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday to finish the season with a nine-match winning run in the league.

But City still finished a point above them to successfully defend their title as they picked up their 14th win on the bounce against Brighton & Hove Albion:

It has been a remarkable season for Liverpool as they have improved by 22 points from last term.

Klopp acknowledged quite how brilliant his side have been this term, but said they will need to be even closer to perfection to overhaul City, per Reuters (h/t ESPN FC):

"As long as City are around, with the quality they have, the power, the financial power and that stuff, then it's not any other team that will pass them easily. So we need to be very, very close to perfection to win the Premier League as long as this is the case. 

"We have made unbelievable big steps and I expect more to come—what that means in the end, I don't know. If you see whatever happens to you in life as the only chance you will ever have, I feel a bit for you to be honest, because there is a lot to come, a lot of years, it is all about what you do with it."

After City won the 2017-18 Premier League title by 19 points to second-placed Manchester United, this season's title race was one of the closest ever.

It was decided on tiny margins, perhaps most notable was Sadio Mane's effort in City's 2-1 win over Liverpool on 3 January that eventually fell millimetres short of crossing the line:

Liverpool have now gone 29 seasons without adding to their haul of 18 league titles.

They have finished second in three of the last 11 Premier League seasons, each time failing to win the title despite being top at Christmas, so often an indicator of eventual champions:

However, unlike in 2013-14, when Liverpool lost to Chelsea and drew with Crystal Palace in the run-in to cede the title to City, they could not have done much more in 2018-19:

And Klopp looks to have built a side that can compete again for the Premier League next term.

After finishing second in 2008-09 and 2013-14, Liverpool dropped out of the top four in the following season.

That looks unlikely to happen in 2019-20, when the Reds will surely push City all the way again in search of an elusive 19th title.