LIVERPOOL legends John Barnes and Jamie Redknapp agree with Jurgen Klopp that the Reds are already out of the title race after just two months of the season.
And former Reds midfielder Redknapp has suggested the "strange" summer sale of Sadio Mane has been a big factor in their stuttering start to the campaign.
Sunday's 3-2 defeat at Prem leaders Arsenal has left the Merseyside giants 14 points off of top spot.
Tellingly, they are also 13 points behind champions Manchester City who are poised behind the Gunners and look in title-winning form again with Erling Haaland continuing to score at will.
Liverpool still have 90 points to play for in a season which will be highly unusual due to a mid-season break for a first-ever winter World Cup in Qatar.
But their experienced boss Klopp knows a return of ten points from a possible 24 in the early running has left them a mountain to climb.
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And after defeat at the Emirates, the German admitted: "We’re not in the (title) race."
That is a view shared by Barnes, 58, who won the top flight twice with Liverpool.
He told Sky Sports: "It's going to be very difficult. I don't think we're playing well enough, but I think we can still finish in the top four.
"I don't want to say the title's over [but] can we see Man City or Arsenal dropping loads of points?"
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Fellow former Reds midfielder Redknapp, 49, who won the League Cup and Uefa Super Cup during his time at Anfield, thinks the sale of striker Mane to Bayern Munich has weakened their squad.
He told Sky Sports: "You start to look at the age of the squad, and they need to improve what they're trying to achieve right now.
"Mane… it was a very strange decision to sell him."
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