It only took 30 years!

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. I hope you are all keeping safe during this time. Just when we thought Covid-19 was difficult enough, the weather Gods decide to send some extreme temperatures our way. I feel for everyone who is working in an outdoor environment where it is impossible to get any shelter from the heat. This is one of those times where an office job in a pleasantly, air conditioned space sounds appealing. For those of you who are confused by the title of this blog, it can be summarised in three simple words, Liverpool are champions! Now as most of you should know (and if you don't I assume this is your first time reading my blogs) I am not a Liverpool fan. Above that, I do not like how Liverpool fans generally conduct themselves, nor am I a fan of Jurgen Klopp prancing up and down the touchline like a clown in the circus. However, that is as far as my personal views are going to go. I want to take this chance to reflect on one of the most amazing, dominant seasons in Premier League history, and why Liverpool have a 23 point lead after just 31 games.

For the few non-football fans here, Liverpool's first league triumph for 30 years was confirmed last night after Chelsea defeated Manchester City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge - leaving the defending champions 23 points Liverpool with just 21 points to play for. If we're being completely honest though, the league was decided in November as far as the title race went. But why have Liverpool been such a dominant force? And how do they compare to other great teams in Premier League history?

In order to win a title, you need to get the most points. To get the most points, you need to win the most games. And when you win 18 games in a row, well, that certainly goes a long way. During this time they had both disciplines mastered - scoring goal after goal after goal, and conceding very few. They have arguably the most potent attacking trio in world football in Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, whilst Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and, for the most part, Joe Gomez, have been rock solid. These are players that have been at the club for many years and have grown together and developed together into a team. Their chemistry is second to none and quite honestly, when I see Liverpool next on the fixture list, I pray for a miracle. Especially if you play them after their 18th straight win.

Going back over the recent past, most teams who have gone on to win the Premier League have been unbeaten at home. Well, this Liverpool team have gone above and beyond that and have recorded 23 consecutive home wins - the last of which a 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace on Wednesday night. However, it is not just Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool team who take credit for this. Anfield is one of the most intimidating atmospheres for an away team to play in front of. 50,000 fans before kick-off singing You'll Never Walk Alone and support that continues at full volume for the duration of the game - they truly are Liverpool's 12th man.

Spanning back to the middle of last season, Liverpool went an incredible 44 league games unbeaten run. This shows an unbelievable level of consistency given the strength and ability of every team in the Premier League. It's not like the early 2000's when Arsenal and Manchester United pretty much beat everyone apart from each other. This makes Liverpool's achievement even more impressive. That run included 39 wins and just 5 draws until it was ended with a shock 3-0 defeat at Watford. Even with that defeat, it is the second longest unbeaten run in Premier League history (behind the Arsenal Invincible team of 2003-2004 who went 49 games unbeaten), and the 4th longest in any European league. With just 7 games left of this season, it is possible Liverpool could achieve 35 Premier League wins and 107 points - both would be very well deserved records. Neither of which I could see ever being beaten.

Quite unbelievably, this was Liverpool's first Premier League title for 30 years! Their last triumph was in 1990 under the reign of The King, Kenny Dalglish. Many managers have tried since, a list including former England manager Roy Hodgson, Rafa Benitez and Brendan Rodgers, but it took until 2020 and Jurgen Klopp to deliver the goods. To come to the defence of Brendan Rodgers, he guided Liverpool to a runners-up finish after his move from Swansea. Had it not been for that infamous Steven Gerrard slip against Chelsea that allowed Demba Ba to score, Liverpool's wait would have certainly been over by now. One thing I can say with a very high degree of confidence is that Liverpool will not have to wait another 30 years for their next Premier League title. In fact, I would be shocked if they do not defend their crown in the 2020-2021 season.

Last night's celebration in Merseyside is the 8th different decade in which Liverpool and their fans have been able to celebrate a top-flight title. Their first success was way back in 1900-1901 (and before anyone asks - no I was not there!) There followed 5 different league wins during the 1970s and 6 during the 1980s. 1989-1990 was their last one until yesterday evening (if anyone clocked the mandatory Taylor Swift reference there - well played). Just because the league is won does not mean that Liverpool's season is finished. They could still set a new Premier League points tally (15 points from their last 7 games looks a piece of cake for this team) and could also become the first team in Premier League history to win all 19 home games in a season.

The only disappointment in Liverpool's season is the lack of a trophy in a cup competition. A 2-0 defeat at Chelsea knocked them out of the Emirates FA Cup, and an extra-time defeat to Atletico at Anfield saw them crash out of the Champions League which they had won the season before. A Premier League crown and numerous records will surely be a satisfactory season for the Reds (if it's not then it should be). However, a domestic cup and a European run would have made this, in my opinion, the greatest season by an English team of all time.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the season and wish your team every success for the remaining matches (excluding Tottenham of course). Whether your team is going for a league title or is fighting in a relegation scrap, please enjoy watching football again and supporting your team. We were without the beautiful game for far too long.

See you on Monday (if you haven't melted by then!)

Connor
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