Thanks to their 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool secured their 20th top-flight title, equalling the record 20 wins that bitter rivals Manchester United set under former boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Now that Arne Slot has brought the Reds their second Premier League crown, Sports Mole takes a look at how the Merseysiders’ success compares to other title triumphs, especially in light of suggestions that the champions have been lacklustre on their route to glory.
How many points could Slot’s Liverpool end the campaign with?
Liverpool’s current tally of 82 points has put them out of the reach of second-placed Arsenal, who, sitting on 67 with four games to play, can only reach a maximum of 79.
That points disparity has led to some suggestions that the Reds have not been as strong as previous title winners, with pundits arguing that the division has been lacking in serious competition this season compared to previous terms.
However, the projected points gap of 14 by the end of matchday 38 is 35% smaller than Manchester City’s record 19-point lead over runners-up United from 2017-18, and this suggests that the league has been no less intense than in the past.
Additionally, having averaged 2.39 points per game across their impressive season, Slot’s side are projected to reach 90 points by May 25, and they could even end up with 94 if they can maintain a perfect record over the final four matches.
Taking 12 points from their remaining fixtures would put the Merseysiders sixth in a list of the Premier League’s all-time highest points totals, but considering that they will face Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, it will be a tough ask.
On the other hand, Liverpool have clear room for improvement after leaning extremely heavily on Mohamed Salah to make up for inconsistencies in a forward line that lacks a regular striker, while left-back Andrew Robertson has come under scrutiny at times in 2024-25, and the club may return to the market for a specialist defensive midfielder following their failed pursuit of Martin Zubimendi last summer.
Which other managers have won the Premier League in their first season? How does Slot’s triumph compare to historical wins?
Slot has become just the fifth manager to win the league in his first season, following in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea in 2004-05 and 2009-10 respectively, as well as Manuel Pellegrini at Man City in 2013-14 and Antonio Conte at the Blues in 2014-15.
The Special One made a remarkable start to life in the Premier League after winning the Champions League at Porto, and brought the title back to Stamford bridge with 95 points – a number that remains the fifth highest total in the division’s history.
Such a record may be beyond Liverpool 20 years later, but the former Feyenoord boss could surpass the 91 points that Ferguson achieved in his 1993-94 season with the Red Devils, and that would make for a memorable rebuttal to the Scotsman’s infamous “knock Liverpool off their perch” comment.
Similarly, Arsene Wenger‘s much-lauded Invincibles team of 2003-04 accumulated 90 points with a record of 26 wins and 12 draws across their 38 games, and if the Reds can match that tally as has been projected, then the strength of their title success would surely be undeniable.
How does Slot’s Liverpool compare to the title challengers of the Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp era?
Winning the Premier League at the first time of asking after taking the reins from a legendary figure such as Jurgen Klopp is an impressive feat, but Slot’s team have some way to go before they reach the heights of the German’s Reds, who went toe-to-toe with the peak iteration of Pep Guardiola’s Man City.
Klopp’s singular title win came during the 2019-20 season, and the Merseysiders had recorded an astonishing 26 wins and one draw in their opening 27 matches of the campaign, before football was interrupted by the pandemic.
Considering that they went on to reach 99 points that season following a 97-point effort two years prior, Slot will have to settle for a chance at beating the former manager’s tally of 92 from 2021-22, though one defeat in the final four games would derail those ambitions.
Similarly, Guardiola’s centurions of 2017-18 ended with six points more than Liverpool can possibly earn this term, and it is arguable that the Reds were aided by facing a dysfunctional City side this time around.
That being said, this new-look team that has been dubbed ‘Liverpool 2.0’ still has room to grow, and sporting director Richard Hughes will be hoping that his appointment can approach the success of his predecessor and defy the trend of first-season title-winning managers being sacked shortly after their triumphs.
