FA Cup comes at perfect time for Liverpool to recover from Manchester City loss

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Liverpool travelled to face champions Manchester City for the biggest match of the Premier League season last night and came away with a 2-1 defeat, thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane.

That cuts their lead atop the table to four points, but had Jurgen Klopp been offered an advantage of that size going into December, he would surely have accepted.

It has been a gruelling festive period for the Reds and the intensity reached a crescendo at the Etihad Stadium last night in a match full of passion and quality, with both sides naturally desperate to win.

Obviously, the Reds suffered their first league defeat of the season and while Klopp looks to have built a side resilient enough to cope with that setback, a change of emphasis in the FA Cup this weekend could be just the tonic.

The Reds visit Wolves in the third round on Monday night, for what is plainly a tricky assignment.

Klopp’s Liverpool have already been dumped out of the cup by the Old Gold, back in 2017; and while both sides are clearly a very different proposition now, Wolves’ record against the big boys this season has been mightily impressive.

But it does allow Klopp to make changes, offering his side a breather ahead of a renewed assault on the title as well as giving some fringe players and opportunity to shine.