To say that Liverpool has dazzled the footballing world with their 2019/20 Premier League title would be an understatement. After a 30-year long wait, the Reds have not only won the Premier League, but they’ve also done it in record-breaking style.
While the title was all but over and Liverpool just needed to nudge themselves across the finish line, there’s still a lot of football action at both ends of the table since the return of the Premier League.
Manchester City’s loss to Chelsea ensured the Reds won the title once gaining a 23-point advantage. This also meant that there was a chance for Liverpool to beat Manchester City’s points record with the remaining games.
There were enough points to overtake City’s 100 points, a milestone that Liverpool massively played down as they had already achieved what they set out to achieve.
Jürgen Klopp has always downplayed such records on the way to the title win. After their recent victory over Brighton, Klopp was emphatic that they would not take this record for granted. However, after playing poorly since being crowned champions and suffering defeat at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal beat them 2-1, it meant that the best they could reach is 99 points, which is not enough to break the record.
Klopp may have wanted to get the better of Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and there was possibly no better chance than this season to do so. There is no denying that winning the league is good enough, it is fantastic for a side that has never won it before.
Football Records Galore
Along the way to the title win, Liverpool has broken numerous records while setting new standards for the game. At one point, the Reds held a 25-point lead which is the biggest ever in English top-flight history.
The team also boasts the most home wins’ record which it achieved on 24 February with a victory over West Ham United. It was their 21st consecutive Premier League win at Anfield. The number moved to 24 with victories over AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa at home.
Klopp and his team also beat Manchester United and Manchester City’s earliest title win record by claiming the title with seven matches to spare. Back in January, the team also claimed the record for most points (104 points) won over 38 matches after beating Tottenham Hotspur.
Other records the Reds have broken include the fastest 30 wins which they made with 34 matches. They also enjoyed the best start ever to the Premier League with 61 points from the opening 21 games. The Reds also extended this record with six more wins to garner 79 points from their first 27 matches.
What Could Have Been
If they did manage to win all the remaining matches, they would have been able to close the season with an incredible 104 points.
Looking at the teams they had to face, it’s easy to understand Klopp’s hesitation to hype the record as a motivation. While talking to BBC after his side’s 3-1 victory over Brighton, he insisted the focus was on winning games. However, like he usually does, Klopp didn’t fully dismiss the points record as he says it would still be good. The German manager says the quality of teams waiting for them meant reaching that points target would always be a difficult ask.
Burnley, Arsenal, Chelsea are all teams that Klopp’s side had to face after winning the league. These are difficult teams to face but most people would have had Liverpool as the winners for all of these. To their surprise, Liverpool suffered massively, they only drew at home to Burnley, which ended their home winning streak and then came the loss at Arsenal. They face Chelsea at Anfield where they will also lift the Premier League trophy. They will be determined to do so following a victory.
Prolific Attacking Force
Looking at the team’s recent performances after the June resumption, the 100 points record didn’t seem too farfetched. The Red’s attack is still in top form despite a humbling 4-0 defeat by Manchester City when the league resumed.
Mohamed Salah is still on course for the Golden Boot and this could be motivation enough to drive the team. The prolific scorer took his tally to 19 league goals for the season with two goals in their win against Brighton. This puts the Egyptian striker within four goals of Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy in the race for the Golden Boot.
The formidable attacking play of Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino are part of the reason why Liverpool are lifting the title this year. With a combined 250 goals during Klopp’s reign, the team boasts one of the best attacking forces in the Premier League.
While addressing questions on the quality of the three players, Klopp was quick to admit the goals they have contributed have helped the team soar.
So, it is not to be this year that Liverpool overtake Manchester City in the history books and land over 100 points in a Premier League season. For a team with Liverpool’s quality, there’s nothing to stop them from breaking the record another year, but unfortunately, not this season.
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