Captain Jordan Henderson believes Liverpool have proved they are more than a match for the Premier League's top sides and only consistency is now holding them back.
The 1-1 Anfield draw against Tottenham dented the title-chasers’ hopes of catching leaders Leicester but highlighted again that Jurgen Klopp’s side can produce spells of top-level football.
They dominated a first half in which Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made five good saves and although the game swung the other way after the break Henderson thinks it was another example to show they are not that far away from catching the top four.
“It was a good game of football. Spurs are a very good team and we saw that but we did well and created some good chances,” said the England midfielder.
“If we had been a bit more clinical we could have got the three points but in the end a draw was a fair result.
“I said earlier in the season that a lack of consistency has been our biggest downfall.
“We’ve produced some top-class performances in certain games and got some great results but in others we haven’t been at that level and we’ve paid the price.
“There’s been a mixture of performances and we need to improve but I think we are going in the right direction. We are getting better all the time.
“Even though we lost to Southampton (immediately before the international break) in the first half of that game we were brilliant.
“In patches we were very good again against Spurs. We matched a very good side who are going for the title and on another day we would have won the game.”
With the top-four virtually out of reach for Liverpool attention turns to the Europa League with Klopp planning for a reunion with former club Borussia Dortmund on Thursday.
Having matched Spurs in the pressing stakes at Anfield, Henderson believes that will stand them in good stead in Germany against one of the best exponents of the tactic.
“I think it will help us prepare for the Dortmund game,” he added.
“It was a high-intensity game against Tottenham and I’m sure it will be the same against Dortmund so it was good preparation for Thursday.”
Vice-captain James Milner believes with a few minor alterations they can confidently take on the second-placed Bundesliga side.
“There are positives in the performance, there’s not too much to change,” he told Liverpoolfc.com..
“We weren’t a million miles off, so (we need to) just tweak those.
“A lot of lads have done a lot of travelling this week, international breaks are never too easy and we only had one session with everyone together with the boys who played midweek.
“It’s not an excuse but hopefully we can gain that extra that we needed today from being together over these next few days and go again on Thursday.”
Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge were both denied by Lloris who put in an impressive 45-minute spell of goalkeeping before the deadlock was finally broken six minutes after half-time with another precision strike from Philippe Coutinho.
However, after going behind the visitors stepped up a gear and Harry Kane scored his 22nd Premier League goal of the season, setting a new club record, with a well-executed shot on the turn.
