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Here’s where Liverpool finished after the last 20 times they were top on New Year’s Eve

Liverpool finished 2024 on a 14-game unbeaten league run

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The Kop at the Anfield stadium home of Liverpool Football Club

After a near-perfect start to Arne Slot’s reign, Liverpool will end 2024 eight points clear of Nottingham Forest at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand.

What does that mean? Nothing certain,  Slot and his players will probably say. The figures, too, might bear that out: of the last 20 occasions when they have topped the pile as the year begins, Liverpool have gone on to win the league 11 times.

In recent years, they have become champions after establishing a 13-point lead and missed out after having a seven-point advantage. And 75 years ago, they went from first to eighth during the second half of the season.

From Jurgen Klopp and Kenny Dalglish to Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly, 101GreatGoals.com examines the triumphs, near-misses and failures across Liverpool’s track record from this position.

Arne Slot of Liverpool

2023/24: Klopp finale falls short

There was talk of Liverpool going for a quadruple in Jurgen Klopp’s final season, helped by his side moving top with a 2-0 win at Burnley on Boxing Day and beating Newcastle 4-2 at home on New Year’s Day.

A defeat at Arsenal in February and losses at home to Crystal Palace and away to Everton in April ultimately left them nine points off champions Manchester City, with Arsenal also seven points above them.

Atalanta made a mockery of Liverpool’s status as Europa League favourites by beating them 3-0 at Anfield, and Manchester United ousted them from the FA Cup after extra time in the quarter-finals. Klopp did sign off by adding the Carabao Cup to the cabinet, though, thanks to an extra-time victory over Chelsea in the final.

Jurgen Klopp

2020/21: Unhappy New Year

After one defeat before the end of the year, Liverpool were handily placed in 2020 with a three-point lead and significant goal difference superiority over Manchester United, who had a game in hand.

Draws against West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle to end 2020 hinted at the collapse to come, including defeats to Southampton and Burnley during a run of three games without a goal to start 2021.

Six defeats in seven matches in February and March contributed to Liverpool finishing third, five points behind United and 17 shy of champions Manchester City.

2019/20: Champions at last

After dropping only two points before the end of the year, Liverpool were 13 above Leicester City and 14 clear of Manchester City with a game in hand on both. Surely that lead was unassailable?

An eight-match winning run at the start of 2020 put them on their way to winning the title with seven games to spare – a record during the Premier League era, although they had to wait until June to do it because of delays to the season caused by the Covid pandemic.

They finished 18 points above the second-placed Cityzens to win their first title for 30 years by a landslide, with relegated Watford the only team to beat them before they had become champions.

2018/19: City too slick

While Liverpool could not quite keep up the pace that had seen them win 17 and draw three of their 20 games before the end of 2018, Manchester City’s successful overhaul of a seven-point deficit had more to do with Pep Guardiola’s team winning 18 and losing one of their 19 matches from December 30.

City beat Liverpool 2-1 in the first fixture of 2019 for both of the near-flawless title rivals, and a run of four draws in six games for Klopp’s side between January and March handed the Cityzens supremacy.

Liverpool won their final nine league games to take the race to the final day and finish on 97 points – unsurprisingly, the highest ever tally for a team finishing second in one of the major European leagues. They did, however, win the Champions League that season.

2008/09: Draws do the damage

Liverpool’s second and final defeat of the 2008/09 season came at Middlesbrough in February, but they were scuppered by a total of 11 draws, seven of which came at Anfield.

Rafael Benitez’s side were three points above Chelsea with an inferior goal difference on New Year’s Eve, as well as seven clear of Manchester United, who had two games in hand.

Successive draws with Stoke City, Everton and Wigan Athletic at the start of 2009 were part of a run of 11 dropped points in seven games, including a draw at home to Manchester City and that loss at Boro. Champions United lost twice as many games as Liverpool but finished immediately above them by four points.

1996/97: Man United surge ahead

John Barnes’ winner at Southampton meant Liverpool were top for a game at the end of 1996, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Wimbledon all five points behind and possessing matches in hand.

A 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on New Year’s Day was part of a run that saw Liverpool secure only seven wins in their final 17 league matches of the season, leaving Roy Evans’ team fourth behind Arsenal and Newcastle on goal difference.

United won the title by seven points – their fourth in five seasons – and did the double over Liverpool, including a 3-1 win in the penultimate game of the campaign at Anfield.

1989/90: Dalglish delivers

Arsenal were unbeaten but Liverpool were top by a point in 1989 after the Gunners drew seven of their first 20 games, with Crystal Palace, who had lost 9-0 in the second game of the season at Anfield, only three points from the summit.

Liverpool were in the midst of a 20-match unbeaten stretch in all competitions on New Year’s Eve, continuing that run until a late 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in mid-March, which proved their only league loss after November.

Kenny Dalglish’s players sealed the title with two games to spare and finished nine points above second-placed Aston Villa, although Palace gained their revenge by beating them after extra time in the FA Cup semi-finals.

1988/89: 90th-minute misery

After three defeats and a draw in their final five games of 1988, Liverpool finished the year four points clear of Aston Villa and five above Arsenal, both of whom had a game in hand but a significant goal inferiority on the Reds.

Manchester United’s comeback win over Dalglish’s side at Old Trafford on New Year’s Day was Liverpool’s only defeat until their immortally dramatic final game of the season.

Arsenal arrived at Anfield needing a two-goal win to beat their hosts to the title. Alan Smith’s 52nd-minute opener looked insufficient until Michael Thomas scored in the 90th minute to give the Gunners glory.

1987/1988: Title dominance

Unbeaten after 21 games as part of a 29-match unbeaten start to the campaign, Liverpool were 10 points above second-placed Nottingham Forest with a goal difference of 40 on New Year’s Eve 1987.

Their first defeat was a painful one at Everton and they suffered their second and final league loss at Forest in their subsequent away game, but finished nine points ahead of Manchester United despite dropping points in eight of their closing 12 games.

Dalglish’s side scored 16 more times than United and recorded a goal difference of 63, but they could not find a way past Wimbledon in a surprise 1-0 FA Cup final defeat to their underdog opponents.

1983/84: Treble joy

Three points clear of Manchester United on New Year’s Eve 1983, Liverpool had the joint-best defensive record alongside fourth-placed Southampton, with successive 1-0 defeats to United and Sunderland and a 4-0 thrashing at Coventry City their only real blemishes.

A draw against United and defeat to Wolves at Anfield marked an unpromising start to 1984, with Ian Rush’s hat-trick – part of a 47-goal season for the club’s all-time top scorer – kickstarting their year in a 3-1 win at Aston Villa.

Liverpool lost two and drew five of their 10 games before winning the title with a game to spare, helped by a stumbling Southampton who finished three points behind them. Manager Joe Fagan also lifted the European Cup and League Cup in a spectacular campaign.

1982/83: Paisley’s farewell

In Bob Paisley’s final season before his retirement, Liverpool finished the year six points clear of Nottingham Forest and eight ahead of Watford and Manchester United.

Rush scored six goals in their six league wins at the start of 1983 and they remained unbeaten until April, with five defeats and two draws in their final seven games still enough to secure the silverware by 11 points ahead of the Hornets.

They also came from behind to beat United 2-1 in the League Cup final, although they suffered surprisingly early exits in the European Cup – to Polish opponents Widzew Lodz – and the FA Cup, losing to Brighton & Hove Albion.

1980/81: Fifth – but European champions

Liverpool were level on points with Aston Villa at the top of the table at the end of 1980, foiled by drawing 12 of their first 25 games but with four more goals scored than the Villans.

Paisley’s side ended nine points behind Villa, having won two fewer games than any team in the top seven, with three of their six defeats after December arriving during their first four matches of 1981.

Their travails in the league were only fleetingly troubling as Liverpool beat Real Madrid in the European Cup final and West Ham – via a comeback win in a replay – to lift the League Cup.

1979/1980: Two points decisive

With wins worth two points rather than three until 1981/82, Liverpool were two points clear of Manchester United with a game in hand on New Year’s Eve 1979, helped by scoring 49 goals – 12 more than the next-highest scorers in the division, Norwich City.

Despite starting 1980 with a draw at home to Southampton and defeat at Coventry, Paisley’s team could afford to lose their final game at Middlesbrough and still take the title by two points after United lost 2-0 at Leeds United three days earlier.

Their season featured an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal that required three replays, with the teams drawing at Hillsborough and twice at Villa Park, where Dalglish scored a 91st-minute equaliser in their second meeting. Arsenal eventually beat them 1-0 at Coventry’s former home of Highfield Road.

1978/79: Defences win titles

1-0 defeats at Arsenal and Bristol City made December Liverpool’s worst month of 1978/79, and they finished the year level on points with Everton but with a game in hand on their city rivals.

Third-placed West Brom were two points behind but with one game more to play than the Reds, although Nottingham Forest ultimately took second spot, eight points behind Liverpool.

Paisley oversaw one more league defeat all season for a team who conceded only 16 goals in 42 league games. Their pursuit of a third consecutive European Cup was far less impressive, ending in the first round to eventual champions Forest.A tribute to former manager Bob Paisley at Liverpool Football Club

1976/77: Almost the treble

In a precarious position atop the summit, Liverpool were two points clear of Ipswich Town and Manchester City at the end of 1976, with all of the five teams immediately below them – Aston Villa, Newcastle and Arsenal were also in the mix – poised to move ahead if they won their games in hand.

Liverpool ended the season by drawing against QPR, Coventry and West Ham and losing at Bristol City, but Manchester City and Ipswich’s uncertain form meant the outcome of that final defeat was irrelevant before kick-off.

Second-placed City finished a point behind Liverpool, who beat Borussia Monchengladbach to become European champions and lost the FA Cup final to Manchester United.

1975/76: Champions by a point

Seeking his first trophies in his second season in charge, Paisley ended 1975 with his team level on points with Manchester United, although Leeds were a point behind with a game in hand on both.

After three victories in their first nine league games of the new year, Liverpool won eight and drew one of their last nine matches, with late goals by Kevin Keegan, John Toshack and Ray Kennedy earning them a 3-1 comeback win at Wolves in their final game and the title, a point above QPR.

Keegan scored in both games as Liverpool won the UEFA Cup, recovering from 2-0 behind in the first leg of the final against Club Brugge, who also made it 3-3 on aggregate in the return match before succumbing 4-3.

1972/73: Record setters at Anfield

In their final game of 1972, Bill Shankly’s Liverpool beat Palace 1-0 to set an English top-flight record of 21 consecutive home wins that was only eclipsed by Klopp’s team in March 2020.

Liverpool ended the year three points above Arsenal with a game in hand and five clear of Leeds, who had a game more to play than the leaders.

That magnificent Anfield run was swiftly forgotten when they drew with Derby County and lost to Arsenal in their first two home league games of 1973, but they won the league with reasonable comfort, finishing three points above the Gunners. A young Keegan scored 12 of their goals after December, including two in their UEFA Cup final win over Gladbach.

1968/69: Leapfrogged by Leeds

Don Revie’s Leeds ended 1968 two points behind leaders Liverpool, but the Whites would not add to the two defeats they had suffered at that point, while the Reds lost two and drew seven of their 17 league games from Boxing Day.

A four-game winless run at the end of the season meant Shankly’s players finished an equidistant four points from Leeds and third-placed Everton.

Although Liverpool had the best defensive record in the division, their return of a solitary goal during those final four matches contributed to their status as only the seventh-highest scorers in the division, averaging little more than a goal a game from January.

1965/66: Hunt hits 29

After losing 1-0 at home to Leeds on December 27 and beating them 1-0 away a day later, Liverpool ended 1965 two points above Burnley, who had a game in hand, and five ahead of Manchester United, who had two more matches than them to play.

That defeat was their only one in 18 league games between the end of October and mid-February, and a run of seven wins and one draw at the start of 1966 helped them finish six points above Leeds and the Clarets, although they dropped points in six of their last 11 games.

No player bettered the 29 top-flight goals scored that season by Roger Hunt, who would join club team-mates Gerry Byrne and Ian Callaghan in England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad. Hunt remains Liverpool’s second-highest all-time scorer.

1949/50: A seven-place slump

Liverpool’s two wins in seven games in December 1949 were highly welcome ones, beating Everton at home on Christmas Eve and visitors Arsenal seven days later.

That put them two points above Manchester United and four ahead of Blackpool, who had a game in hand. Nine defeats and five wins in their remaining 17 games, however, left George Kay’s team in a final position of eighth, five points behind champions Portsmouth.

Club legend Billy Liddell top-scored for the club, helping them go all the way in the FA Cup before losing the final 2-0 to Arsenal. Current Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah overtook Liddell as Liverpool’s fourth-highest all-time scorer with his second goal against Tottenham on December 28 2024.

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Picture of Ben Miller

Ben Miller

Ben has more than 10 years' experience in sports journalism, covering two EURO tournaments, European club competitions, the Premier League, EFL and WSL and a variety of other major sporting events.

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