Liverpool must preserve their fighting spirit to reignite their Premier League title defence, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has urged ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester City.

The Reds currently sit third in the table with 18 points from 10 matches — one behind second-placed City — though both trail leaders Arsenal, who have 25 points.

After a difficult October that saw them lose six of seven matches across all competitions, Liverpool have begun to rediscover their form with back-to-back clean-sheet victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid.

Szoboszlai highlighted the team’s renewed determination in their 1-0 Champions League win against Real Madrid on Tuesday, describing it as a performance built on unity and hard work.

“Everybody could see against Real — all of us were running, fighting, being there for each other, covering each other’s backs,” the Hungarian told British media on Friday. “The most important thing is to keep going like this.”

Looking ahead to the trip to the Etihad, Szoboszlai emphasised the need for focus and consistency rather than early title talk.

“There’s a long way to go. Now it’s all about the Premier League and facing City at the weekend. We know how strong they are,” he said. “If we were seven points clear at this stage, nobody would be saying we had already won the league.”

“Last season, when we were leading, we stayed calm and kept pushing because anything can happen. We just need to focus on ourselves, win our games, and see where that takes us.”