Brendan Rodgers believes his Liverpool side took a “huge step” towards a top-four finish to the Premier League season with Sunday’s 2-0 victory at Southampton.
The Reds withstood early pressure to claim a vital win at St Mary’s thanks to goals from Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling.
Three points lifted the Merseysiders above Tottenham into sixth place, and just three points away from Manchester United in third.
With Chelsea and Manchester City making the top two their own, it appears to be a five-horse race for the remaining two Champions League spots, with United, Arsenal, Spurs and the Saints all rivalling Rodgers’ men.
And while the boss is confident his side will keep pushing for a place in Europe’s top competition, he insists his side are in for tough battle in the remaining 12 games of the season.
“The victory today was a huge step for us,” said Rodgers
“We’re three points away from third place now, which is a great symbol of how well the team is working at the minute.
“But it’s going to be tough all the way through to the end of the season, there are still 12 games to play.
“I think our experiences from last season will really help us, over the last 14 games we went on an incredible run last year and this season, from the middle of the season onwards we’ve really progressed as a group.
“It’s a new team that is forming really well, the desire is there from the players and they’re showing that in the results and their performances.”
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman was left to lament a series of contentious referee decisions following Sunday’s clash at St Mary’s, with the hosts having two penalty claims turned down in the opening five minutes.
But Rodgers disagreed with the Dutchman about the possible penalty and hailed his side's defending after a fifth successive clean sheet away from home in the Premier League.
“With the decision, I can see why the referee didn’t give it, the guy wasn’t really in control of the ball, it was running away from him and the player has gone over far too easy,” said the Northern Irishman.
“With the crowd up, of course that puts the referee under pressure but I thought Kevin was excellent. All his decisions were correct.
“All in all, I thought we deserved the win,” he added.
"We defended magnificently. We knew we needed to improve. At the beginning of the season we couldn't get the right balance.
"Now there is and there's great confidence in the team. Our game still could be better but the result was important and everyone's contributed."
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