Since the Premier League was founded in 1992, only one team has ever gone the full schedule of fixtures without losing a single game.
That team was Arsenal back in the 2003/04 season. They managed to win 26 of their 38 league matches with 12 ending in draws. That was an incredible feat that earned them the nickname ‘The Invincibles’. But Liverpool look on course to shatter that record in the 2019/20 campaign.
Liverpool have equalled Arsenal’s record of 26 wins during their unbeaten season by the end of February, so they will smash that by the end of the season. The Reds are a staggering 22 points clear at the top of the Premier League after beating the Hammers. They have only dropped points in one game this season, a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
Since the draw with Manchester United, the Reds have gone on an amazing run of 18 consecutive victories, scoring 39 goals and conceding just eight. This run has included wins over Tottenham Hotspur twice, Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers twice, Sheffield United, Manchester United, West Ham United twice, Southampton and Norwich City.
They were pushed all the way on Monday as West Ham led 2-1 after 54 minutes thanks to goals from Issa Diop and Pablo Fornals after Georginio Wijnaldum had given Liverpool an early lead. The Reds showed why they are unbeaten as Mo Salah equalised after 68 minutes before Sadio Mane scored the winner with nine minuites remaining.
I’m not sure many people thought West Ham were going to be the team that would stop Liverpool going the season unbeaten. Ultimately they didn’t, but they didn’t lie down and that performance will give them hope of avoiding the drop come the end of the season.
It’s very hard to see where Liverpool are going to drop any points in the Premier League now. Even when they look beaten, they manage to pull it off and secure the victory. They look solid in all positions, the only way they will start to drop points is if Jurgen Klopp decides to rest a lot of his first-team and play the kids that have been playing in the cup games. Even then there is no certainty they will lose.
Goalkeeper Alisson has kept 10 of the 12 clean sheets in the Premier League and he’s looking like a bargain now at £66.8 million. Virgil van Dijk is the glue that holds everything together at the back, while Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are two of the most exciting talents in the division with the latter providing two assists against West Ham to take his tally this season to 12.
It’s one thing being good in defence and midfield, but you need people to put the ball in the back of the net and Liverpool have that in abundance. Salah and Mane both added to their total on Monday with a goal each taking them to 15 and 13 respectively, while Roberto Firmino is still hanging around with eight.
It’s very difficult to find a weakness in this Liverpool side. No matter what your allegiance is, going the whole season unbeaten is a remarkable achievement. But can Klopp’s men actually do it?
Liverpool have 11 Premier League matches yet to play, so in the coming weeks and months we are going to keep a close eye on the Reds and see if they become more invincible than the Gunners. The toughest games they have in the run-in will be against Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, but by the time they play the Gunners and the Blues they will probably have already been confirmed as champions.
You could say Liverpool got a little bit complacent in the win over West Ham, maybe they have earned the right to be, I don’t know. But I think that was a wake-up call to them as they will now be fully aware that every team wants to be the first to stop them becoming the Invincibles.
West Ham gave it a good go, but I cannot see Watford troubling them at all. They were hammered 3-0 by Manchester United last time out, and that is by a United side who have rarely played well this season. How will they fare against a team that has been unbeatable all season?
I cannot see anything other than a Liverpool win in this one and a very comfortable on at that. The Reds can see the finish line and they will want to secure the title as soon as possible and Watford will not be good enough to stop them.
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