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Liverpool star Sadio Mane sends Man City Premier League choke warning
SADIO MANE has warned Manchester City that Liverpool will hold their nerve in the title race.
The Reds are currently four points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side at the top of the table with just over a third of the season remaining.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were seven points ahead of City before the turn of the year but had their lead reduced in early January when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad.
Liverpool went on to lose their next game - an FA Cup third round clash with Wolves - but stopped the rot last Saturday against Brighton.
The Merseysiders haven’t been in contention to win the league since the 2013-14 season, when they allowed City to overturn a five-point gap with three games to go and win the title by two points.
The infamous collapse has led many to question if Liverpool will be able to see off the challenge of City and win their first league title in nearly 30 years.
Mane is confident history won’t repeat itself and that he and his team-mates won’t fall at the final hurdle.
“This is not a team of chokers,” Mane told Sky Sports. “I am sure we will be champions of England.
"When I wake up, I don't go to the training ground thinking we will not win.
This is not a team of chokers
“We are determined to show we are the best team in the league."
The disappointment of the 2013-14 season is still a sore wound for Liverpool fans.
And Mane has insisted the squad will use that heartache as motivation to deliver Anfield its first Premier League title.
“It is not easy to hear people accuse the team of being chokers but we have to ignore it and focus on what is in front of us,” he said.
"Liverpool had the chance to win it a few years ago and did not do it but I prefer to think it helped to bring us where we are now.
"This is not a team of chokers. I am sure we will win the league."
Mane and his Liverpool team-mates will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, welcoming Crystal Palace to Anfield.
Manchester City, meanwhile, travel to the John Smith's Stadium on Sunday afternoon to take on managerless Huddersfield.