What does Liverpool’s loss mean for their pursuit of records?

Liverpool’s shock 3-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday evening cost the Reds the chance of claiming some Premier League records.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the records now out of Liverpool’s reach after their Vicarage Road setback and those that they can still break.

Records lost

Unbeaten season

Arsenal’s 2003-04 side remain the Premier League’s only “Invincibles”.  Arsene Wenger’s Gunners won 26 games and drew 12 that season to finish 11 points clear of second-placed Chelsea.

Longest unbeaten run

Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to 49 games. Liverpool’s finished five short on 44. Their previous top-flight loss came in a 2-1 defeat to eventual champions Manchester City on January 3, 2019 – 422 days earlier.

Most consecutive outright wins

Liverpool will have to settle for a share of this record with City. Both sides claimed 18 consecutive league wins before slipping up.

Possible records

Points in a season

Most points in a Premier League season

Liverpool could shatter the record points total for a Premier League campaign (PA graphic)

City became the Premier League’s first centurions two years ago, finishing with 100. Liverpool are on course to beat that, sitting on 79 with 10 games left, with a possible 109 on the cards. They need another 22 points, which could be achieved with eight more wins, to break the record.

Earliest title win

If Liverpool win their next four games, regardless of second-placed City or anyone else’s results, they will lock up the title with six matches to spare – beating the record of five, which City’s centurions share with the Manchester United side of 2000-01. Should City drop further points, the Reds could even win it sooner than that – possibly at the home of rivals Everton on March 16.

Winning margin

Their current lead of 22 exceeds the Premier League’s record winning margin, City’s 19 points over United two years ago. But City do have a game in hand now and could trim the margin back to 19 by winning that.

Most wins

Having won 26 out of 28 games this season, another seven from their remaining 10 games will take them past City’s record of 32.

Consecutive Golden Boots

Mohamed Salah with his Golden Boot trophy in 2018

Mohamed Salah has the chance to win a third Golden Boot (Dave Thompson/PA)

Only Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry have won the Premier League Golden Boot in three successive seasons – the latter with Arsenal from 2003-04 to 2005-06, while Shearer won the 1994-95 and 1995-96 prizes with Blackburn and the following year’s with Newcastle. Mohamed Salah won the award in 2017-18 and shared last season’s honour with team-mate Sadio Mane and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – he is currently two behind Aubameyang and Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, on 15 goals.

Fewest draws

A mere footnote, but just one draw so far keeps Chelsea’s record of three, set in both 1997-98 and 2016-17, in sight.

FourFourTwo Staff

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