Complex sentence: However, their title hopes suffered a major blow in the next game on 18 January when they lost 3--1 to Liverpool at Anfield and now found themselves fifth in the league and seven points behind leaders Manchester United, though with a game in hand.
Split into simpler sentences: However, their title hopes suffered a blow in the next game on 18 January when they lost 3--1 to Liverpool at Anfield. They now found themselves fifth in the league and seven points behind leaders Manchester United, albeit with a game in hand.