It seems only fitting that the current Liverpool team finally have their name alongside some Premier League records, given the team’s dominance of this season’s competition.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have been superb over the last couple of years, but while European silverware was secured last season, not much of their domestic brilliance over the last two years has been recognised in the history books until recently.
Liverpool’s 97 points in the league last season was the third best league performance of any club in English top flight history – and seldom bettered in any major league across the continent. But it wasn’t quite good enough to pip Man City to the title.
The 17 consecutive victories achieved earlier in the season fell agonizingly short of Man City’s record of 18 straight wins. Liverpool’s 8 wins from the start of the season was also just short of the nine wins that Chelsea began the 2005/6 season with.
Liverpool are also currently on the second longest unbeaten run in English football, including both the second longest unbeaten run away from home, and the second longest unbeaten league run in home matches. The record for the latter is held by Chelsea, and is safe until at least the Autumn of 2021.
But Liverpool did, on Monday night, become the first team to win 21 consecutive home matches in the Premier League era, matching the all-time record set in 1979 by the Liverpool team managed by Bob Paisley.
In beating West Ham, it was also Liverpool’s 18th league win in a row, equalling Man City’s record and a feat that is especially impressive considering that it began immediately after the previous run of 17 wins was ended at Old Trafford, and also spanned a period of time that involved Liverpool travelling to Qatar for the FIFA World Club Championships.
The next two matches present opportunities for the current Liverpool team to stand alone as the record holders for consecutive wins, and for consecutive home wins. If six points can be delivered from fixtures away to Watford and at home to Bournemouth, it will place Liverpool on 20 consecutive wins, including 9-in-a-row away from home, and 46 matches unbeaten in the league.
To match Arsenal’s 49 game unbeaten run however, Liverpool will need to avoid defeats away to Everton and then away to Man City. Both opponents are presumably resigned to the inevitability of Liverpool going on to lift the title, but both would enjoy nothing more then being the team responsible for ending the possibility of Liverpool achieving further records.
This is especially the case for Man City, whose own record of 11 consecutive away wins is in Liverpool’s sights, and could be equalled at the Etihad Stadium should the Reds maintain their winning form over the next two away fixtures.
Even if Liverpool do drop three points before April, and fall short of equalling the mark set by Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles‘, there’s still some margin for slip-ups in the pursuit of Man City’s record points haul, and also City’s record for the most wins in a season. It seems likely that Liverpool will at least equal their own club record of 30 wins in a season, with only Guardiola’s Man City having ever bettered that tally with 32 wins in each of their last two seasons.
To surpass the record for the most league points in a season, Liverpool need 22 points from the remaining 33 available. And if they can take 23 points or more in the eleven games still to play, the Reds will surpass the 102 point total recorded by Juventus in 2013/14 – the highest tally achieved by a club in any major European league.
With just 12 points needed before the end of the season to secure the title, the Premier League trophy is one thing that looks almost certain to be heading to Anfield. And while setting records is satisfying for any team – as a recognition of consistently performing at a high level – becoming league champions for the first time since 1990 is what really matters most to Liverpool.