Jurgen Klopp has urged Liverpool to be ready for a "massive" showdown with Tottenham on Sunday as his struggling side battle to save their season.
The Reds are languishing in ninth place in the Premier League after a wretched run that includes successive defeats against struggling Leeds and Nottingham Forest in their past two top-flight matches.
Liverpool are eight points adrift of the top four and 10 behind third-placed Tottenham ahead of this weekend's vital clash in north London.
Klopp knows another loss would be a huge blow to the team's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
"Massive game and difficult as well, Spurs away," Klopp said on Friday. "I didn't count the points distance between us and them but we have to go for it.
"We know it is difficult, we all know Tottenham is a side that is well-organised, defending an extremely high level and counter-attacking is a massive thing.
"Spurs is in a good moment, turned their last two games around in the last minute and the last one was an extremely big one in the Champions League so they are confident and strong."
Liverpool 1-2 Leeds ratings
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LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 6. The Brazilian took responsibility for the opening goal but Gomez’s blind pass was the bigger issue. Liverpool defenders sometimes have too much confidence in their goalkeeper. AFP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5. The 24-year-old showed flashes of his attacking ability but was not his usual, dangerous self. His defending was adequate and he made way for Milner with 11 minutes to go. AFP -
Joe Gomez - 4. The 25-year-old started badly by gifting Leeds a goal and seemed not to regain confidence. No defender should pass backwards without checking the opposition. EPA -
Virgil van Dijk - 4. The Dutchman was lackadaisical. The margin between imperious and indolent is sometimes thin. He was on the wrong side of the line. AFP -
Andrew Robertson - 7. The Scot was the only Liverpool player who was anywhere near his best. He got up and down the line and provided the cross for Salah’s goal. Getty -
Fabinho - 3. You had better be producing a performance of heroic proportions if you are going to chide the crowd. The Brazilian tried to gee up the Kop despite being awful. He was replaced by Henderson in the 61st minute and no one was surprised. Getty -
Harvey Elliott - 4. The 19-year-old looked out of his depth. Youngsters have nights like this and need to be bailed out by more experienced teammates. He was left hanging and substituted for Jones in the 60th minute. EPA -
Roberto Firmino - 5. The Brazilian was in and out of the game. He linked play nicely and was foiled twice by Meslier in the closing stages. Getty -
Thiago Alcantara - 4. The 31-year-old's passing was off beam. His mobility was questionable, too, and he was easily bypassed by Leeds breaks. AFP -
Mohamed Salah - 6. The Egyptian scored the equaliser and showed signs of an understanding with Nunez. His teammates need to find a way of getting him the ball more often. AP -
Darwin Nunez - 5. The Uruguayan needs to lose his unfortunate knack of hitting the goalkeeper. He also needs to develop better decision-making. AFP -
SUBS: Curtis Jones (Elliot 60') - 5. The 21-year-old promised an immediate impact with his direct running but found too many blind allies. Getty -
Jordan Henderson (Fabinho 61') - 5. The 32-year-old found it hard to impose himself on the game. Getty -
James Milner (Alexander-Arnold 79') - N/A. The 36-year-old will be disappointed the winning goal came down his flank. AFP -
LEEDS PLAYER RATINGS: Illan Meslier - 8. The Frenchman made a succession of saves that kept his team in the game. Most of them were routine but the goalkeeper made things look easy. AFP -
Rasmus Kristensen - 7. The Dane provided an outlet going forward and Aaronson hit the bar from his dangerous cross. He had some nervous moments defensively but made up for it with a series of tackles and blocks. Reuters -
Robin Koch - 6. The German had his hands full with Nunez and sometimes looked less than secure. He rarely panicked, though, and stuck to his task. Reuters -
Liam Cooper - 5. The 31-year-old rode his luck. He got caught out of passion on occasion and could have been punished by more clinical finishing. Getty -
Pascal Struijk - 7. The 23-year-old had a daunting challenge against Salah but did his best to keep the Egyptian relatively quiet. This meant he did not get forward as much as Kristensen. EPA -
Tyler Adams - 7. The American worked relentlessly to ensure Liverpool could not dominate the midfield. His distribution was effective when his team were in possession. AFP -
Marc Roca - 6. The Spaniard found it hard to get a grip on the game in the first half. He improved after the break but his passing was far from perfect. Getty -
Jack Harrison - 5. The 25-year-old forced a first-half save from Alisson but too often failed to live up to his promise. He was replaced by Gnonto in the 72nd minute. PA -
Brenden Aaronson - 8. The American hit the woodwork and was at the centre of most of his side’s best work. He aimed to cause danger every time he picked up the ball. AP -
Crysencio Summerville - 7. The Dutchman spent much of the game looking out of his depth. He changed perceptions with his winning goal before being replaced by Ayling in stoppage time. AFP -
Rodrigo - 6. The Brazilian was the grateful recipient of Gomez’s error and opened the scoring. After that he could not carve out many chances and he made way for Bamford in the 52nd minute. Reuters -
SUBS: Patrick Bamford (Rodrigo 52') - 5. The 29-year-old's touch let him down when a big opportunity arose. AP -
Wilfried Gnonto (Harrison 72') - 6. The 18-year-old injected a burst of energy into the team. AFP -
Luke Ayling (Summerville 90+1') - N/A. The 31-year-old provided extra security in the closing moments of the game. EPA
Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said that without the challenge of Liverpool, Pep Guardiola's City could have dominated the Premier League like Juventus did in Serie A when they won nine consecutive league titles between 2012 and 2020, a run started by the Spurs manager.
Conte said: "Without Liverpool, I think maybe Manchester City could do in the same way like Juventus was in Italy, so for this reason they have to be proud to reach this level.
"I think they improved a lot in these years during the transfer market with the big, big signings and this is a positive thing I'm telling to Liverpool because you can have money to spend, but if you waste your money, you don't sign good players, you can have whatever money you want, but you have to spend it in the best possible way.
"I think that Liverpool did this in this period, otherwise I think it was really, really difficult to become the first rival for Manchester City. For this reason, they signed really, really important players. They spent money, but, I repeat, I'm talking in a positive way because for sure Klopp has changed Liverpool."
