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Cape Town — Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said it was far too early to talk about the Premier League title after the Reds earned a tough 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday.

The victory, thanks to a James Milner penalty and Sadio Mane’s injury-time strike saw Liverpool collect a second win in two.

Asked about what kind of message the win sends to their title rivals, Klopp replied: “It’s very early.”

“I couldn’t care less really. We are not in a race with other Premier League teams each weekend.

“It is too strong to say anything after two match days. You can discuss whatever you want – just do it without us.”

Klopp went on to praise his side for what he called a ‘ugly’ win after they failed to hit the attacking heights of their opening day thrashing of West Ham.

“You have to play it as it is and be a real challenger, play ugly, do all that type of stuff,” added Klopp. “Our target is to be a difficult opponent. We did that.”

“We expected Palace to be strong, and to have that clear approach against us playing a big number of long balls.

“I saw that in the warm-up from (Wayne) Hennessey practising and thought, wow, this is going to be really difficult. But to see a defender winning almost 100% of the situations clearly without a foul … Virgil (Van Dyck) was very important. His performance was really, really good.

“Quality costs a specific price. Cars are like that. Lots of things are like that. Players too. But nobody thinks about the fee now, which is good. In this market at the moment, he’s at least worth it even if it’s not too cheap.

“We could have done better offensively, and it was not a brilliant football game from us. We don’t have to make it something it was not. But it was a big step. Everyone knows that when we are not brilliant, we usually lose. Today we weren’t brilliant, but we won.”

Meanwhile, Former England captain David Beckham is to receive the 2018 UEFA President’s Award in honour of his achievements in the game and his work since retiring as a player, European football’s governing body said yesterday.

The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder, who is now 43, will receive the award in Monaco later this year.

“I have chosen David Beckham as the recipient of this year’s award because he has been a global ambassador for football, promoting the game and all its values in every corner of the planet,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

“His tireless humanitarian efforts, which have helped the lives of many children around the world, should also be celebrated. Beckham is a true football icon of his generation.”

Beckham won the Champions League with United in 1999 and later played for Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Madrid.

He hung up his boots in 2013 and earlier this year was awarded an MLS franchise in Miami.

“During my career I always gave 100 percent and tried to uphold the values of teamwork and fair play and I am proud to join the illustrious list of players who have previously won this award,” said Beckham, who is now involved in charity work with UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund.

“Many of the unforgettable moments I had on the pitch came in the UEFA Champions League such as that magic night in Barcelona in 1999 when we beat Bayern Munich in such dramatic fashion.” – Sport24-AFP.