Liverpool is a team that has dominated English football before. Between 1973 and 1990, the Reds won 11 League titles and were indisputably, the best team in England. Since then, the team from Anfield have won just one league title, with the one in 2020 coinciding with the Premier League era. That title triumph was magnificent for Liverpool, so let’s take a deeper dive into it.
A lot of the key incomings for Jurgen Klopp’s side came in the season before where Liverpool fell agonisingly short of their first Premier League, coming second by one point despite claiming 97 points. The arrivals of Alisson, Van Dijk and Fabinho in 2018 and 2019 bolstered the spine of Klopp’s side which had sometimes looked fragile.
Squad players were the only ones to leave Anfield as well. Individuals such as Danny Ings and Simon Mignolet left for Southampton and Club Brugge respectively. No major outgoings meant the men from Merseyside could now go all the way.
For the first 27 games of the season, Liverpool was almost faultless. Apart from a draw away to Manchester United on matchday nine, the Reds were invincible. Manchester City, Liverpool's usual title challengers, trailed their rivals by 22 points meaning that the so-called ‘title race’ was over by the end of February.
Despite eventually losing to Watford, Manchester City and Arsenal, Liverpool would lift the Premier League trophy after defeating Chelsea 5-3 in front of an empty stadium. Despite there being no crowds and months of no football, Liverpool had won the trophy they had desired the most.
Manchester City couldn’t stop Liverpool and for the first time in 30 years, Liverpool were the kings of England once again.
Klopp’s brilliance of course was a major factor in Liverpool’s title triumph. Despite the German winning his 3rd domestic league title, the tools he had at hand was a major help in Liverpool’s success.
The defence was the best in the Premier League that season. The 33 goals conceded were helped by the 13 clean sheets of Brazilian international, Alisson. Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold provided the wall in front of Alisson.
At the other end of the pitch, the front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firminho were on fire. Their 46 goals combined made sure that the tremendous trio would go down as one of the best in Premier League history. The 19 and 18 goals of Salah and Mane respectively meant that the two forwards finished fifth and sixth in the Premier League Golden Boot race. No other team had two players in the top ten.
99 points had been achieved and Liverpool had claimed their first league title. Though this is Liverpool's only title to date, there have been many times where the Reds came close to glory.
No other time has Liverpool come closer than the season just gone. Liverpool may have finished a point behind Manchester City again, but on the final day, the men from Merseyside came so near to a second Premier League.
With Manchester City 2-0 down to Aston Villa, Liverpool knew that the 2nd goal against Wolves would put them in pole position. By the time that 2nd goal came, Manchester City had composed themselves to be 3-2 up. The pressure Liverpool failed to put on City allowed to their sixth Premier League crown.
A similar outcome came in the 2018/19 season. Again it was Liverpool versus Manchester City going into the final day. Unlike the season just gone, Man City didn’t wait until the 75th minute to turn the result around, comfortably beating Brighton 4-1. Liverpool was 2nd, despite earning 97 points, the most ever claimed by a team to go on and not win the title.
Other moments come to mind when you think of Liverpool falling agonisingly short. The Gerrard slip and Crystal Palace collapse of the 2013/14 season. Costly draws at home to Stoke, Hull, Fulham, West Ham and Arsenal in the 2008/09 season meaning their arch-rivals, Manchester United, won the league for the third time in a row to equal the then-record of 18 titles.
As the new season draws nearer, Liverpool and Klopp will go again. Mane may be gone, but Darwin Nunez is now in after his move from Benfica. Only one thing will be on the fans' mind at Anfield for May 2023: Premier League glory.
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