Manchester City midfielder Rodri has heaped praise on Liverpool as the reigning Premier League champions attempt to close the gap between them and the current league leaders.
Jurgen Klopp's side have won all eight of their matches so far this season, while two defeats and a draw mean City are eight points adrift of top spot ahead of their trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola's men did overturn a seven-point deficit to win the title last term, but they can ill-afford many more slip-ups for the remainder of the season.
And Rodri, who has enjoyed a fine start to life at the Etihad Stadium since his summer move from Atletico Madrid, believes City's chief challengers are one of the best teams of recent times.
“It’s pointless beating Watford 8-0 then losing the next game,” he told the Guardian. “I touched down to find one of the best teams I’ve seen in recent years. Liverpool get seen as a counter-attacking team, but they dominate, score from set plays, the attacking mechanisms are well worked, they have variety.
"Klopp’s teams are tough, physical. They go at you like animals. They’re like a knife: one comes at you, then another. But every team has their bad moment and we have to be there [if they do].
“Nobody likes to lose, still less with our demands and Guardiola isn’t going to settle for defeat but he knows how to keep calm and lift the group, not ‘killing’ the team.
"We know the situation we’re in: we have had players out, we’ve played a lot of games and maybe that’s taking its toll. He will work on what we have to improve. We’re better when we rob the ball in the opposition’s half; when we press, we have to deal better with counters.”
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