We’re only 13 games into the Premier League season but some fans already feel that Liverpool ‘s lead of nine points may be too big of a mountain to climb for those below.
Most expected Arsenal and Man City to be battling it out of the title again but it is Arne Slot’s Reds that are running away with it right now.
Sunday’s 2-0 victory over City made it 11 wins from 13 for Liverpool while City have now failed to win any of their last seven games in all competitions.
Arsenal look to have found form once again following the return of Martin Odegaard and they will take inspiration from seasons gone by.
Bigger gaps have been overturned in Premier League history and on many occasions.
Here Mail Sport takes a look at the times when a big lead has been successfully chased.
Liverpool sit nine points clear at the top of the Premier League after their win over Man City
The Reds have made a superb start to the season under new manager Arne Slot
10-point deficit
Liverpool may be nine points clear but this season will remind them why they shouldn’t be celebrating just yet.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola were involved involved in a number of epic title races prior to the German’s Anfield exit in the summer and this is perhaps the memorable of the lot.
The Reds seemed unstoppable for the first half of the 2018-19 campaign as they entered the New Year undefeated with 17 wins and three draws from their opening 20 games.
Klopp’s men had conceded just eight goals up until that point and held a 10-point lead over City, who lost three matches in December and had a game in hand.
The two sides met at the Etihad on January 3 and that is when everything began to change.
Goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane sealed a 2-1 win for the Citizens, handing Liverpool what would prove to be their only defeat of the season and closing the gap to four points.
And City would then go on one of the great Premier League runs, winning 18 of their last 19 league games to pip the Reds to the title by just one point.
Liverpool’s total of 97 points remains the most accumulated in Premier League history by a team who didn’t win the title, and at the time it was the third-biggest points tally in the history of the English top tier.
Manchester City beat Liverpool to the title by just one point after going on an incredible run
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Manchester United 2008-09
10-Point Deficit
Another campaign that will be in the back of the minds of Liverpool supporters right now.
United found themselves 10 points behind their rivals on December 18, though this was largely due to their involvement in the Club World Cup which left them with three games in hand.
This was a Liverpool team that boasted the likes of Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.
However, the course of the season changed after Benitez stoked the fire of his rivalry with Sir Alex with his infamous ‘facts’ speech.
The Reds went on a frustrating run of draws, being held in seven out of 10 matches.
United, who dropped points seven times in the first half of the season, took the initiative and did so just three times in the second.
Back-to-back defeats to Fulham and Liverpool gave the Merseyside outfit hope again and there was ever more when United were trailing 2-1 to Aston Villa with 10 minutes to go in their following game.
Cristiano Ronaldo equalised, however, before Federico Macheda produced an iconic injury time winner to snatch the three points and United never looked back.
Seven wins and a draw to finish the season saw the Red Devils finish on top with a four-point gap to their title challengers.
Manchester United overcome a 10-point deficit to beat Liverpool to the title in 2009
Manchester United – 2002-03
10-point deficit
United made a sluggish start to the season with just two wins from their opening six games, both of those unconvincing 1-0 scalps.
Their form remained patchy and by mid-November Arsenal had established a 10-point lead, having played one more match.
Back-to-back losses to Blackburn and Middlesbrough over the Christmas period meant the writing was on the wall but Sir Alex’s men turned it around in style.
They didn’t lose any of their remaining 18 games while the Gunners began to drop points.
A run of one win in five for Wenger’s men in the business end of the season saw United go on to win the title by five points.
Manchester United – 1995-96
12-point deficit
Probably the first one that comes to mind when asked to name a Premier League title comeback.
Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle were brilliant for much of the season and had established a 12-point advantage with just 15 games remaining.
What followed was a spectacular turnaround with United dropping points just twice for the remainder of the campaign.
The Red Devils bounced back from a poor start to secure another Premier League title
Newcastle’s form collapsed leading to Keegan’s infamous press conference meltdown in the final weeks.
Ferguson had publicly questioned if Nottingham Forest and Leeds would try as hard in their games against the Magpies, to which Keegan responded: ‘I would love it if we beat them.’
They did not. Newcastle drew their last two and finished four points behind the champions.
Manchester United – 1992-93
12-point deficit
United appear once again on this list with Sir Alex’s teams having a real habit of hunting down teams.
The first instance of this came during the inaugural Premier League season, where United were down in seventh in December.
Norwich City sat 12 points above the Red Devils but the arrival of Eric Cantona in November sparked a resurgence.
United had climbed to top by mid-January with Norwich going on a six-match winless run which began with defeat to their title rivals.
Fergie’s men ran away with it in the end, winning their final seven games to end the season 10 points clear. Their first title in 26 years and the beginning of a dynasty.
Sir Alex Ferguson lifted another Premier league trophy as his side hunted down Newcastle
The arrival of Eric Cantona helped United close a 12 point gap and lift the trophy once again
Arsenal – 1997-98
13-point deficit
Arsenal have become somewhat synonymous with the word ‘bottlers’ over the years so it may come as a surprise that they hold the record for the largest points deficit overcome en route to a title.
And they did so by closing the gap on old rivals Man United back in the 1997-98 season.
Albeit with a game in hand, the Gunners trailed by 13 points in December following a run which had seen them win just twice in eight games.
Their form transformed after Christmas as they went undefeated in 18 games, winning 15 of those.
The north London cub did lose their final two games but by that point the title had already been sealed.
Arsenal came back to win the Premier League after trailing Man United by 13 points
Ultimately they finished one point clear, Arsene Wenger lifting the trophy in his first season at the club.
13 points back then, Today, they sit nine points behind Liverpool….
