Records fell as the European champions, fuelled by missing out on the title to Manchester City by a point last season, scorched through the league to amass the biggest-ever lead (25 points) in English top-flight history. Liverpool were not just elevating the benchmark domestically, but across Europe’s major divisions.
Before suffering their only defeat of the season at Watford, Jurgen Klopp’s side had posted 79 points from their first 27 matches - a return never seen before on the continent. Victory in all but two of the club’s 29 fixtures, underpinned by a stingy rearguard, has given Liverpool the platform to end a 30-year wait to be crowned England’s best in emphatic fashion.
Liverpool
2019-20
League position: 1st
Form: WWWLW
Next three fixtures: Everton (a), Crystal Palace (h), Man City (a)
Cups: Won the Super Cup and the Club World Cup; Champions League last-16; FA Cup fifth round; League Cup fifth round.
Player of season so far: Sadio Mane, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk deserve high praise, but the driving force behind the mentality of the squad has been Jordan Henderson. A leader that has turned in dominant displays regardless of what position he has been tasked with.
They have showcased a variety of ways to secure maximum points. There have been recoveries: the late leveller at Old Trafford, triumph against Tottenham at Anfield, the win at Villa Park. There has been resilience, too: the clawing to keep out Jose Mourinho’s side in North London, the ugly and narrow ousting of Sheffield United, the almighty battle at Molineux, seeing off Norwich away, the rally to overcome West Ham 3-2.
Liverpool have still been able to blitz and bulldoze teams, with the 4-0 victory at Leicester City the perfect snapshot of their offensive might. A side that was once defined by their attacking blurs have proven themselves capable of doing whatever is necessary to win.
Liverpool require just six points to secure the title, with Klopp saying: “There’s a lot of yards still to go. We want to go for everything. We want to go for the maximum points we can get. That’s how it is now. This could be the most special season, with or without Covid-19.”
It’s not just about wrapping up the title for the first time in three decades, but enhancing that achievement by smashing more records.
Liverpool can become the first Premier League side to win all 19 home fixtures in a season. They can record the most victories in a campaign, currently only five away from matching the 32 claimed by City in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Another 19 points from a possible 27 will see the Merseysiders eclipse the 100-point mark set by Pep Guardiola’s men.
Liverpool can become the first club to secure the title with at least six matches in hand. And they are also on course to register the biggest winning margin, surpassing the 19-point gap City swaggered to the title by in 2017-18.
