Georginio Wijnaldum admits Liverpool are about to discover whether chasing “suits” them, with a Merseyside derby draw with Everton leaving them behind Manchester City in the title race.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have spent much of the 2018-19 campaign leading the way in the battle for the Premier League crown.
They were as many as 10 points clear at one stage, but are now one adrift of defending champions from the Etihad Stadium.
With there still nine games to go, more twists and turns are expected before the grandest prize in English football is handed out.
Liverpool are, however, going to have to play catch-up if they are to end their 29-year wait for domestic dominance and Wijnaldum is unsure as to how they will respond to finding themselves in that position.
The Dutch midfielder told Sky Sports on the back of a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park which means the Reds have now won just two of their last six in the league: "It's a difficult one to swallow because everyone wanted to be top of the table. But I don't want to say that it's a setback.
"It's normal that we are disappointed but that's the situation and we have to deal with it. We are going to train hard and make sure we win the rest of the games. We have to perform and try to win every game because City will do the same.
"I don't know [whether we prefer to chase them]. We have to see if it suits us better. It's always difficult to say. I think they are used to the pressure. For us it's new. We just have to make sure that in the last nine games we give our all, and we'll see what happens."
Liverpool will get the chance to get back on track next weekend when they play host to Burnley.
With that contest due to be held on Sunday, and City in action against Watford a day earlier, Klopp’s side could find themselves even further back on the Blues by the time they take to the field at Anfield.
Victory over the Clarets will keep them in the hunt, though, and offer a welcome pick-me-up ahead of a shift in focus to European competition.
After facing Burnley, the Reds will then take in the second leg of a Champions League last-16 encounter with Bayern Munich which is currently locked at 0-0.
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