Who Did Liverpool Draw With This Season

In 1889, when Queen Victoria was still on the throne and Birmingham was granted city condition, the Football League began. In its countdown flavour, Preston North Finish went unbeaten for the entirety of the competition - fans dorsum and then perhaps didn't realise that the sport would develop in the manner it did for the following century, let alone that such a tape would represent 115 years.

When Arsenal managed a league campaign of 38 games without losing in 2004, there were some that claimed it would never happen again in our lifetimes. Arsene Wenger's side reached 49 matches in total without defeat,

Some 16 years later, many of united states of america idea a dominant Liverpool side - having previously dropped only two points all flavour - would eclipse Arsenal'southward achievement.

I Saturday night at Nigel Pearson's Watford undid all of that. Merely where does Jurgen Klopp'due south side rank in the all-time Premier League unbeaten runs?

=nine. Nottingham Forest (1995) - 25 matches

It might seem hard to believe that Nottingham Forest would take points from the likes of Chelsea, Armory, Tottenham and Manchester City to go unbeaten in the league for virtually an entire calendar year. But this was 1995, Stan Collymore was at the elevation of his game and Nottingham Forest were setting all kinds of records.

Forest were promoted in 1994 and remained unbeaten from the February onwards until the climax of the 1994/95 flavor. They finished third - beating Blackburn Rovers' two-twelvemonth-quondam record for the best season of a newly-promoted Premier League squad - and remained unbeaten long into the new season, when Blackburn got one back. Rovers' revenge came in the form of a 7-0 drubbing.

=9. Manchester United (2016-17) - 25 matches

Jose Mourinho's offset season at Old Trafford was a mixed one for Manchester United. They completed a treble (sort of) past winning the Customs Shield, League Cup and Europa League, but finished 6th.

After a iv-0 hammering on Jose's first return back to Stamford Bridge with some other Premier League club, United went on a 25-match undefeated streak, with David De Gea drawing plaudits for his role.

It wasn't the most scenic run - United drew 12 of the 25 games - simply it eventually came crashing downward with back-to-back defeats abroad in North London, to Arsenal and Spurs.

=vi. Manchester United (2010-eleven) - 29 matches

An birthday more impressive unbeaten run, the Manchester United side of the early decade avoided losing from the beginning of the 2022/11 season until February.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side were unbeaten for the 5 remaining matches of the previous campaign, and managed to become a further 24 games without defeat, including a 7-1 demolition of Blackburn in which Berbatov scored five times, and wins against Liverpool and Arsenal. A shock two-1 loss away to Wolves ended the 29-match streak, only United nevertheless sauntered to the title.

=6. Chelsea (2007-08) - 29 matches

2008 volition forever exist remembered as Chelsea's bridesmaid year - the Blues came second to United in the league and lost the Champions League terminal to them in Moscow. They also lost on penalties to United in the Community Shield and, to top things off, finished as runners-up in the League Cup to London rivals Spurs.

Despite such miserable luck, Avram Grant guided Chelsea to 29 matches unbeaten, following a defeat at Armory in December 2007, which stretched into the following entrada. This bizarrely included two 4-4 draws, only was ended by a Xabi Alonso winner at Anfield in October 2008.

=6. Manchester United (1998-99) - 29 matches

The Form of 92 excelled themselves in 1999, with Sir Alex Ferguson guiding Manchester United to an unprecedented treble in the English game. But while most remember the heroic Champions League final against Bayern Munich or Ryan Giggs' incredible solo endeavor in the FA Loving cup semi-final against Armory, United's unbeaten league run of that period was formidable.

In a congested Christmas fixture pile-up, United lost three-2 at Onetime Trafford to Middlesbrough, before building momentum in the second half of the season. The Cherry-red Devils smashed Leicester 6-2 and Woods 8-ane on away days to the Midlands. The run came to an cease in a shock 5-0 pummelling away to Chelsea in October 1999.

=4. Manchester City (2017-18) - 30 matches

Manchester City prepare a multitude of records in 2022. They racked upwardly the virtually points in a season (100), about away points (50), nigh wins (32) and nearly consecutive victories (18) - just they couldn't manage an entire league season without a loss.

After steamrolling the entire Premier League 30 matchdays in a row - dropping just 8 points while doing so - Jurgen Klopp'southward Liverpool shell them iv-3 in a pulsating January clash at Anfield. Information technology was to be the first of iii defeats to the Reds that season, that also saw City crash out of the Champions League.

=4. Arsenal (2001-02) - 30 matches

In 2002, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger declared to a printing briefing that information technology was his dream to see his side get unbeaten for the whole flavor. His side hadn't lost since December the previous yr, to Newcastle, and had done the double that May. Yet, the journalists present laughed at the Frenchman's ambitions.

They were right to - at to the lowest degree this time. Arsenal's scenic run of xxx matches without defeat had seen them rack upwardly xiii consecutive wins en road to the league title - which they confirmed with an epic 1-0 victory at Old Trafford. The dream came crashing down for Wenger in October 2002 though, when a 16-year-old Wayne Rooney scored his beginning of 208 league goals, a 90-minute winner for Everton at Goodison Park. It's not a bad way to stop it, in fairness.

3. Chelsea (2004-05) - 40 matches

Back before Jose Mourinho was the Malcolm Tucker of the Premier League, he was a charming, well-spoken purveyor of continental composure. His commencement flavor in English football was near-flawless; only 15 goals conceded all term, beating quondam masters Ferguson and Wenger to the Premier League title, and simply the one defeat, abroad to Manchester Metropolis, pre-money.

This was Chelsea's gilt era. The Londoners waltzed to the crown without losing a unmarried friction match at Stamford Span, amassing 95 points, made the semi-finals of the Champions League - losing to eventual winners Liverpool - and won the League Cup.

The unbeaten run would terminate to United the following season, but it wasn't enough to kill Mourinho's momentum - the Portuguese retained the league title and didn't lose a single abode game in his unabridged starting time spell as manager of the Blues.

2. Liverpool (2019-20) - 44 matches

Well, who saw that coming? With 12 games left of the season – and the title seemingly wrapped up – Liverpool had dropped just two points.

And and so, in a twist that precisely no one expected, Nigel Pearson's Watford happened.

Permit's echo that: Nigel Pearson's Watford happened.

Jurgen Klopp's side will get down as one of the greatest Premier League sides ever. They may yet break the record for most points in a Premier League flavour; but they won't get unbeaten.

But ane team in the Premier League era has done that.

i. Arsenal (2003-04) - 49 matches

In April 2004, Arsenal were 2-1 down to Liverpool at half-time. They'd crashed out of the Champions League to Chelsea and the FA Loving cup to Manchester United recently and now, their 33-match unbeaten run was under threat.

Customary for that era, Thierry Henry put the Gunners on his back, netted a hat-trick and turned the game into a 4-2 win. Wenger had made no cloak-and-dagger of his desire to go unbeaten, and equally Arsenal proved too powerful for everyone else that season - Henry scored 30 goals alone - Arsenal ended upwardly settling for more and more draws, holding the likes of Manchester United at home and Spurs abroad in games where they were ascendant.

The latter at White Hart Lane was to be the game they lifted the league title for the tertiary time nether Wenger. The Invincibles were to exist famously rendered mortal though by a controversial two-0 to arch-rivals Manchester United, with Wayne Rooney over again helping to end the Gunners' run. Arsenal haven't won a Premier League title since.

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