One glance at the current Premier League table makes for blissful reading for Liverpool supporters!
Twelve games, 31 points – not quite perfection, but not far off it either under Arne Slot, with a gap of eight points to Manchester City in second after the Reds dug deep to see off bottom club Southampton on a storm-battered Sunday.
Some giddy Kopites have drawn comparisons between the current campaign and 2019/20, when of course Jurgen Klopp steered his team to glory in emphatic fashion, the title being secured a full seven matches before the end of the season.
Liverpool have put themselves in a position to be regarded as favourites for the Premier League crown this term, with the best odds on that eventuality available from Gamblizard, but how does their current standing compare with where they were five years ago?
Let’s delve a little deeper, shall we…
After 12 games of the title-winning season under Klopp, the Reds had a scarcely believable 34 points from a possible 36, with only a draw at Manchester United depriving them of perfection at that point. They struck 28 goals in those dozen matches, with 10 conceded at the other end.
Their lead at the Premier League summit was eight points, with Leicester the surprise occupants of second place on goal difference ahead of Chelsea, and Man City a further point behind in fourth.
Pundits (and perhaps managers as well) often like to break down a season into chunks, which we’re going to do here by taking matchweeks 13-19, which bridge the gap between a third of the way through the campaign and the precise midpoint.
Incredibly, seven wins in a row for Liverpool in that bracket of 2019/20 saw them reach halfway with a seismic 16-point lead. The Foxes were still in second at that juncture, although they felt the full wrath of the Reds in a memorable Boxing Day clash as Klopp’s side returned from winning the Club World Cup in Qatar to triumph 4-0 at the home of their nearest ‘challengers’.
In those seven matches, LFC struck 20 goals and conceded only four (and 50% of those came in a 5-2 thrashing of Everton at Anfield).
After 12 top-flight matches under Slot, Liverpool aren’t quite as imperious as the aforementioned Klopp vintage, but 10 wins, one draw and just the one defeat (damn you, Nottingham Forest!) leave the Reds with a hugely impressive 31-point haul. For context, that’s at least five more than what any of the three relegated teams in 2023/24 managed in the entire campaign.
LFC have scored four goals fewer than at this point of 2019/20 but have improved their concession rate by 20%, and even that tally was comparatively inflated by Southampton scoring twice on Sunday.
The gap to second is the same as what it had been this time five years ago, with City eight points behind and Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton all a further point back.
If Liverpool can match the class of 2019/20 and reach the midway point of this Premier League season with a 16-point lead, it’d take some doing when considering the fixtures which’ll take them to the end of 2024.
Man City are next up at Anfield, followed by a quickfire double header away to Newcastle and Everton. That’s followed by alternating home-and-away assignments against Fulham, Tottenham, Leicester (again on Boxing Day!) and West Ham, with two trips to London sandwiching Christmas Day.
Of the four away games, the Reds won the corresponding fixture in 2023/24 only once (2-1 at St James’ Park), drawing against the Irons and losing at Goodison Park and Spurs’ home. There’s a few revenge missions on the cards in the coming weeks, then, and right now Slot’s Liverpool appear to be in the mood for vengeance!
The post 2019/20 all over again? How Liverpool’s Premier League-winning season compares to 2024/25 appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
