How Do Liverpool Compare to Past Premier League Champions?

Liverpool will win the league soon. They've been accused of stumbling over the line though. How have past champions performed at this time of year?

Liverpool’s recent win at Leicester was the clichéd type of victory which we typically see from potential champions. They were not at their best yet with the end of the match in sight they found a way to turn one point into three.

It’s a description that usually gets applied to a match at a crucial point in the campaign when the race is tight. This game was not that, there was no jeopardy at play.

It is only a matter of time before the Reds seal the 2024/25 Premier League title. Had they failed to beat the Foxes, it would’ve made negligible difference to their aim of becoming champions.

Fault must be found regardless. Despite winning six of their previous seven league games, Liverpool are ‘wobbling’, ‘stumbling’ and ‘teetering on the brink of madness, ready to tumble into an abyss of despair’. I made the last one up, but it doesn’t feel that excessive by the standards of football media.

Arne Slot’s side keep getting the job done, nothing more is required (especially when Arsenal have won just six league games since mid-January). This is why the Leicester victory was the true mark of champions; not because the Reds struggled to win, but because of what the score line was.

Compiling the data for the 29 past champion teams in the Premier League’s 20-club era has revealed that the most basic of winning scorelines has been their most common. Liverpool have had three so far this season, they recorded four in 2019/20 and the average has been 4.9 per campaign. Welcome to 1-0, hallmark of title winners.

These findings are to be expected. While the most common single scoreline in the Premier League is 1-1, the most frequent is a 1-0 win for either the home or away side. It’s when victories occur which is more interesting from the perspective of the 2024/25 Liverpool side and the group of champions they will shortly join.