Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he “never thought it was possible” for his side to equal Manchester City’s record of 18 consecutive Premier League wins.

The league leaders joined City in an English top-flight record with a 3-2 victory over West Ham on Monday.

City won 18 straight games between August and December 2017.

“It’s so special. The numbers are incredible, so difficult. I said we wanted to write our own stories, create our own history,” said Klopp.

“Obviously, the boys took that really seriously and that is all cool but just not too important at the moment.

“We are just in the situation and want to recover and prepare for the next game.”

The last time Liverpool dropped points in the league was in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on 20 October 2019.

Victory over West Ham at Anfield, where keeper Lukasz Fabianski suffered a nightmare, took Liverpool to within four wins of their first league title in 30 years.

Liverpool took an early lead when Fabianski failed to deal with a routine Georginio Wijnaldum header but David Moyes’ side replied through Issa Diop’s header and then substitute Pablo Fornals swept West Ham into the lead nine minutes after the break.

But Fabianski inexplicably allowed Mohamed Salah’s shot to squirm through his legs in the 68th minute and Sadio Mane turned in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s lob with nine minutes left to complete the comeback.

It means Liverpool are 22 points clear of defending champions City at the top of the table.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better position to go into these last 11 games,” Klopp added. “I never thought it was possible but each one of [the victories are] really difficult.”

What other records have Liverpool got this season?

• Liverpool have won their past 21 home Premier League games, equalling the English top-flight record for consecutive home wins, set by the Reds themselves between January and December 1972 under Bill Shankly.
• Klopp’s side can amass 112 points this season – no title-winning team has achieved that in England.
• This is now Liverpool’s longest unbeaten run, beating the 37 that concluded in 1894.
• Liverpool’s last defeat in the league came at Etihad Stadium against Manchester City on 3 January, 2019. They’ve only dropped 10 points in total since then.
• The last time Liverpool failed to score was in the 0-0 draw at Merseyside rivals Everton on 3 March, 2019.
• The earliest Premier League title win was achieved by Manchester United when they claimed victory in 2000-01 on 14 April. If the Reds keep winning, they could win the title in March.
• Liverpool have the best-ever tally at this stage of the season by a side in any of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues – England, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

‘It happens all the time’ – analysis

Former Chelsea and Scotland winger Pat Nevin on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Usually there is no jeopardy at this place [Anfield] because you expect Liverpool to win. They were asked a lot of questions, had to go through a lot of gears. It was a brilliant game. Yet again when Liverpool need to win by the odd goal they find a way.

“They rode a little bit of luck in the second half. When there were 10 minutes left, the West Ham fans would have been thinking ‘that is an absolute eternity’. There are some teams where you think you’re running out of time but you don’t think that at Anfield anymore. Even a minute feels like an eternity.

“All three goals came from full-back assists. That isn’t a fluke, it happens all the time. That’s one of the reasons Liverpool have been so extraordinary.”

Former West Ham and England goalkeeper Rob Green on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Liverpool weren’t at their best on Monday. Compared to last week, the performance from West Ham was a stark contrast. They asked questions. Every man put a shift in.

“Jurgen Klopp was celebrating that like a huge, huge win. It was probably the most they have been pushed all season.”