Had Liverpool reached their tally of 97 points in any other season before 2017/18, it would have been a Premier League record haul and they would have lifted the domestic crown, yet doing so in 2019 has seen them finish second as they wonder just what must be done in order to win a league title against Pep Guardiola.
The Catalan coach has been a domestic championship specialist since Joan Laporta hired him as Barcelona‘s first-team coach in the summer of 2008.
In the 10 league seasons in which he’s been a head coach, he’s lifted the title in eight of them, a quite remarkable record when you consider how hard it is for teams to retain their domestic championship.
Only two coaches have ever finished above Guardiola and they are Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, two very similar operators in tactical terms.
Whilst with Real Madrid, the Portuguese coach hit 100 points to win LaLiga Santander in 2011/12, whilst the Italian hit 93 points as he lifted the Premier League title in Guardiola‘s first year in England.
Liverpool lost just one game in the 2018/19 Premier League season, and it just so happened to come against Guardiola‘s Manchester City.
In order to wrestle the title away from the former Bayern Munich coach, you must be perfect, and I mean perfect.
🇪🇸 Pep Guardiola reacts to @ManCity's title win:
🗣 "We will accept the challenge and I promise you, we will be back and we will be stronger next season."
😱 Not resting on their laurels. pic.twitter.com/pnVRiAIQun
— SPORF (@Sporf) May 13, 2019
How can it be that you lose only one league game all season and end up not winning the title? Jurgen Klopp has done stellar work at Anfield, but after the Champions League final he will go back to the drawing board to figure out just how he can unseat the Catalan.
The problem is, Liverpool‘s incredible season was a one-off; it’s difficult to see them repeating it, or at the very least they haven’t yet had the chance to prove they can, thus leaving no evidence to show they will.
🥈 @LFC P 38 W 30 D 7 L 1 PTS 97
"First of all, we have to say congratulations to Liverpool, of course, and thank you so much."
Pep Guardiola salutes @LFC after @ManCity title triumph: https://t.co/X5XGkwxO0g pic.twitter.com/tjUIX7fWX1
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 13, 2019
Manchester City have been stupendous and irrepressible for two seasons now, recording successive points hauls of 100 and 98 points respectively.
You have very little room to manoeuvre in a title race against Guardiola. Out of 1104 career points possible, he has taken 906.
This is an average rate of 2.46 points per match, an unbelievable return which tends to render domestic championships unwinnable to the rest of the competition.