Through 20 league games, Liverpool's 14 points worse off than in comparable fixtures from last season. 14 more points would put Liverpool at the top of the table by two points over Chelsea, 3 points ahead of United with a game in hand. That's why Liverpool's poor form and these results are so infuriating. This is the most wide-open the Premiership's ever been.
Liverpool's gotten a few better results, but only a few: winning at Villa and against both Stoke and Hull. All three were draws last season. But at the same time, Liverpool got a worse result against Villa at Anfield, a 1-3 loss this season compared to a 5-0 win last April.
The other worse results were losing at Chelsea, Fulham, Portsmouth and Sunderland, losing to Arsenal, and a draw at Blackburn. We could also include the home draw against Birmingham; Liverpool beat all three relegated teams at Anfield last season, but Brum's stronger than Newcastle, Boro, and West Brom.
Unsurprisingly, more than half of the inferior results came away from Anfield; as said in the midseason stats review last week, Liverpool's away record is the worst since '06-07. Which might have something to do with the lack of confidence; as soon as the team hits a bump, heads drop, and there isn't an Anfield cauldron to help boost the struggling side.
The current league places of teams Liverpool's lost to? 1st (Chelsea), 3rd (Arsenal), 4th (Spurs), 6th (Villa), 9th (Fulham), 11th (Sunderland), and 20th (Portsmouth). Only one of those is completely and totally unforgivable – I expect Sunderland (and the other five) to finish in the top 10 this season. But that's a sign of where Liverpool currently is. Amongst the middle of the pack top-half teams. And that's unacceptable.
Naturally, I'll update this graphic at the end of the season. Hopefully, we'll have a little more to cheer about.
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