Liverpool were far from their best as they laboured to a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United in the Premier League but Jurgen Klopp praised his side's resilience.
Diogo Jota's second-half header sealed the points after Roberto Firmino had cancelled out Sander Berge's penalty as Liverpool extended their unbeaten league run at home to 62 matches.
Liverpool are undefeated in their last 13 home league games in which they have conceded the first goal, winning the last nine.
They had to do it this time without injured defensive talisman Virgil van Dijk and at the end of a demanding week in which they drew 2-2 at Everton and ground out a 1-0 win over Ajax in the Champions League.
"A tough week obviously - a lot of games, a lot of minutes, tough opponents, hard-fighting opponents," Klopp said.
"(We) won the two matches after the Merseyside derby, so really pleased with that, obviously.
"We didn't score (the third goal) so the game stayed open and they had their moments, but we defended well with a big heart. And so I liked it."
While Liverpool moved joint top with Everton, Sheffield United have managed only one point from six games.
Yet they pushed the champions all the way and manager Chris Wilder saw many positives.
"There are a lot of disappointed people in the changing room," Wilder said. "It was a tight game and it wasn't one-way traffic. A lot of good things tonight but it feels a bit Groundhog Day but we will get better and learn a lot from today's game."
