Liverpool FC Forum

by **Owzat** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:43 am

Here is a brief summary and statistical breakdown of the 2008/09 title race.

August-October

Liverpool and Chelsea start off well, winning both their opening fixtures and winning six of their first eight games. A win for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge is all that divides the two sides in the first couple of months.

Man Utd win only one of their first four fixtures, including a defeat away to Liverpool, but pick up with four wins out of the next five

Liverpool : P10 W8 D2 L0 F15 A6 PTS 26
Chelsea : P10 W7 D2 L1 F22 A4 PTS 23
Man Utd : P9 W5 D3 L1 F15 A5 PTS 18

Even a win in Man Utd's game in hand would leave Liverpool clear at the top. But were Liverpool ever top by a margin that couldn't be bridged by one game/win?

November-December

Liverpool lose their first game of the season at White Hart Lane and then hit a run of three home draws against Fulham, West Ham and Hull.

Man Utd and Chelsea don't take full advantage, Man Utd losing at the Emirates while Chelsea suffer at the hands of Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on top of four draws - two home, two away. Man Utd do pick up momentum though and have picked up games in hand

Liverpool : P10 W5 D4 L1 F20 A7 PTS 19 (OVERALL P20 PTS 45)
Chelsea : P10 W5 D4 L1 F18 A5 PTS 19 (OVERALL P20 PTS 42)
Man Utd : P9 W6 D2 L1 F14 A5 PTS 20 (OVERALL P18 PTS 38)

Man Utd seven points behind, but six points out of six from their games in hand would put them only a point behind Liverpool.

January-February

Liverpool start the New Year top, but three consecutive draws take their toll. Only two wins in the first two months of 2009 sees Man Utd overtake Liverpool and establish a commanding lead. Defeat at Middlesboro leaves Man Utd seven points clear with a game in hand, but it is the draws again costing Liverpool dear.

Man Utd hit top gear, EIGHT straight wins in January and February see them shoot to the top. Chelsea lose to both title rivals but still gain back ground lost on Liverpool

Liverpool : P7 W2 D4 L1 F8 A7 PTS 10 (OVERALL P27 PTS 55)
Chelsea : P7 W4 D1 L2 F7 A7 PTS 13 (OVERALL P27 PTS 55)
Man Utd : P8 W8 D0 L0 F17 A1 PTS 24 (OVERALL P26 PTS 62)

The title is now Man Utd's to lose

March-May

Liverpool find another gear and phenomenal scoring form to try and find some way back into the race. A win over Man Utd is a high point in a run of highs, but even dropping just two points in 10 games is not enough to pull back the deficit, control of the title long since out of Liverpool's hands.

Man Utd lose back to back games to Liverpool and Fulham, but just when the media was sensing a possible dip in form, Man Utd win the next seven on the bounce to leave them one point short of the title - picked up the next game against Arsenal. That run of seven wins in a row was more than Liverpool (five) and Chelsea (four) managed all season - and it was only Man Utd's second longest winning streak after their ELEVEN wins in a row from 26/12/08 to 04/03/09

Chelsea had a good run in, all the top three did, but couldn't make up ground lost in January and February. A 4-1 win at the Emirates part of a run of five wins in six, but not winning more than four in a row all season tells its own story. This is only the second time in five seasons that Chelsea have lost more than three games in a season, the last time they won 29 and were Champions with half as many games drawn as this season

Liverpool : P10 W9 D1 L0 F31 A6 PTS 28 (OVERALL P37 PTS 83)
Chelsea : P10 W8 D1 L1 F18 A6 PTS 25 (OVERALL P37 PTS 80)
Man Utd : P11 W8 D1 L2 F21 A13 PTS 25 (OVERALL P37 PTS 87)

A 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal enough to see Man Utd crowned Champions.

While last season may have gone to the wire, this season sees Man Utd equal last season's title winning points tally.

08/09 Man Utd : P37 W27 D6 L4 F67 A24 PTS 87 (Clean Sheets 23)
07/08 Man Utd : P38 W27 D6 L5 F80 A22 PTS 87 (Clean Sheets 21)

So that magical 27 wins I mentioned a few times this season has been reached both times by the Champions. Oddly enough Man Utd could win more games this season having scored a lot less goals than last season.

Liverpool FC Forum

Premiership 2008/09 - Blow by blow account

Who is online