For one brief moment on Boxing Day, it looked like Brendan Rodgers and Leicester City could be about to give Liverpool the most welcome of late Christmas presents.
Taking on Manchester City at the Etihad, the Foxes were trailing 4-0 at half-time, only for a Kelechi Iheanacho-inspired 20-minute spell immediately after the restart, with the Nigerian scoring once and setting up two against his old club, clawing the scores back to 4-3.
Comeback on!
Four minutes later, though, Pep Guardiola’s men scored their fifth through Aymeric Laporte. They would go on to win 6-3.
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Given the high standards both Man City and Liverpool have set in recent seasons, supporters of both teams have become accustomed to keeping one eye on the other side’s matches and crossing their fingers for dropped points that rarely ever come.
Yet after a covid-depleted Reds were held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, the reigning champions already boasted a three-point lead at the top of the table at Christmas heading into the festive fixtures.
By staving off any feint hopes of a Leicester comeback, that lead now stands at six points after Liverpool saw their Boxing Day commitments called off due to a Covid-19 outbreak at Leeds United.
And by not playing, they also watched on as Chelsea ran out 3-1 winners at Aston Villa.
That moved Chelsea back level with the Reds, having also played a game more.
All in all, not the best set of Boxing Day results for Jurgen Klopp ’s side in what is currently set up to be the most tightly-fought, and admittedly stressful, Premier League title race in years, given the fact that halfway through the season there very much remains three challengers in contention.
So whose position would you rather be in? The team top at Christmas or the team playing catch up but boasting a game in hand?
An easy choice, surely, with points on the board meaning so much more than that up in the air, nothing guaranteed match. Yet Liverpool have been in the position of strength a number of times before, only to fall short when the pressure is on.
In contrast, tailed by Man City (or Manchester United), the chasing challenger has come out on top having had nothing to lose.
The Reds were top of the table at Christmas in 2008/09 under Rafa Benitez, 2013/14 under Brendan Rodgers and 2018/19 under Klopp. But they would finish each campaign in second place.
Admittedly their lead at the top was slightly artificial. Manchester United boasted games in hand after flying off to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008/09, with Sir Alex Ferguson’s men soon wrestling back top spot and never letting go - aided by a 16-match mid-season unbeaten run, and the introduction of Federico Macheda just as results faltered.
Meanwhile, in 2013/14, Liverpool were five points clear of Chelsea, and nine ahead of Man City, with three games left to play, though the latter did boast two games in hand.
Yet the Reds dropped points as Steven Gerrard infamously slipped against Jose Mourinho’s men, before ‘Crystanbul’ happened at Selhurst Park. Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini’s side won their final five matches of the season to snatch the league title.
And in 2018/19, Man City won 18 of their 19 league matches in the second half of the season to leapfrog Klopp’s men, courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Leicester as a Vincent Kompany piledriver saw them win their game in hand in their penultimate game of the season. They would win the title by one point.
Of course, this current Liverpool team do possess one thing that none of these fallen sides had - a Premier League title.
Now well-aware what it takes to come out on top despite all the stress, anxiety and pressure, the Reds are well-placed to continue to challenge City heading into the second half of the season.
With the League Cup final falling the same weekend as their trip to Arsenal, they are already guaranteed at least one further game in hand in the months ahead, while Covid-19 is likely to cause that number to rise around the division as more and more matches get postponed.
Previously the hunted in the years they fell short, Liverpool are now the hunter.
And while a six-point deficit behind Man City is a rather intimidating prospect at the halfway point, their own fallen experiences prove you can never write off the chasing pack.
Points on the board are always preferable but the Reds are now in a position where they have nothing to lose as they continue to pile on the pressure.
