Liverpool FC won the Premier League in record time, but have slipped away since winning the league and Man City can take advantage.
Pep Guardiola celebrates after Gabriel Jesus strikes to secure a 100-point season in 2018
When Manchester City won the Premier League in 2018 with five games to spare, they kept going until the last kick of the season to ensure they became the first team to win 100 points in a season.
When Liverpool looked like they were uncatchable in 2019, City produced an incredible run of 14 straight wins to claw back nine points and win the league on the final day.
But when Liverpool won the league in record time this season, the new champions went on to drop more points in five games than they did in the previous 31.
From being in a position where they were set to smash City’s 100 point record, Liverpool have thrown away that particular chance – although they won’t spend too much time wallowing as they finally have the trophy they have desired for 30 years.
This was a strange season, and the three-month hiatus won’t have helped Liverpool keep the momentum of the first seven months of the season where they were simply brilliant against every team they lined up against.
However, Liverpool’s faltering form after winning the league shows there is a difference between their mentality and City’s when there is an opportunity to make a brilliant season a record-breaking one.
Next season, City will surely offer a much stronger title challenge. With Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Leicester all likely to be strong as they chase the top four – or higher – Liverpool know they won’t have things so easy next term.
Anyone hoping to win next season’s title will need to be mentally prepared for a battle, and to keep the wins coming when the pressure is on from multiple teams in what will be a compacted fixture scheduled. Continue reading