Liverpool’s pursuit of back-to-back Premier League crowns is faltering. They haven’t pulled off this magic trick since 1984, and the early season is brimming with difficulty. With a series of disappointing performances and a defensive record that ranks among the worst in recent history, analysts and fans alike are beginning to draw parallels with past champions who have struggled to defend their titles. As the current campaign unfolds, it seems that Liverpool may join the ranks of clubs whose title defenses have ultimately crumbled.
In other seasons, reigning champs Chelsea, Manchester City, and Leicester City have hit significant road blocks. They overcame long odds and battled tooth and nail to maintain their championship pedigree. Just look at how Chelsea ran away with things last season. During the José Mourinho years they won it in 2004-05 and 2005-06 with 87 points, losing just three matches. Their title defense in 2017-18 was much less successful, with them finishing outside of Champions League qualification places. From 2018 to 2024, Manchester City ran the league, winning six championships over a seven-year span. That all changed when it came time for title defenses, where they were plagued by injuries and inconsistent performance.
Leicester City’s unlikely 2016-17 season triumph was one for the ages, but their attempts to defend that title were historically bad. The team continued to falter, earning just 13 points in their first 14 matches. This disappointing form eventually led to the sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri. Following his exit, Craig Shakespeare took over as manager. He managed to quickly sort out the squad’s dysfunction and guided them to a 12th place finish. Once again, this is a reminder of how fast fortunes can change in the world of football.
What’s happening now in Liverpool echoes these historical precedents. Their team has given up two or more goals in seven games this season. The second-worst defensive record of all teams in the top four divisions. Such vulnerabilities have led many to question whether they can reclaim the winning form that earned them the title last year.
Alan Shearer, former England striker and BBC pundit, reflected on the situation, admitting he couldn’t quite believe how far Liverpool had fallen.
“I’ve never known a capitulation like it from a football club.” – Alan Shearer
The difficult challenges experienced by Liverpool could be a microcosm of what has been seen at other Premier League title-winning clubs during their subsequent title defenses. Manchester United’s seventh-place finish in the 2013-14 season contributed to David Moyes’s departure after just one year in charge. Similarly, Chelsea’s collapse in the 2015-16 season led to José Mourinho being sacked midway through the campaign due to underwhelming performances.
Manchester City’s disappointments in their own title defenses have been well documented, too. In so doing, they dropped a combined 18 games over two tries to defend their title. Their downfall was largely due to injuries. The 2019-20 season saw City’s worst spell of form in a decade raise questions over their hegemony on English football. Those very same issues repeated once more going into the 2024-25 season.
The current Premier League season is just a few weeks old. Liverpool’s woes have still inspired some early season comparisons to the catastrophic collapses of the last title winners. The club’s inability to secure key signings has left manager Jürgen Klopp with limited options, further complicating their efforts to regain form. Antonio Conte once stated,
“the club decides every single player who comes here.”
This continues to illuminate the difficulties any manager will find themselves in when the depth of a squad is severely damaged by outright bad transfer activity.
It’s easy to explain a bad run with injuries, as Liverpool has done, but with each passing game, pressure to sort themselves grows. The trajectory we’re on now is a recipe for disaster. Absent far-reaching improvement on either end of the pitch, they’re in danger of becoming the latest in a long line of clubs to fail miserably in following up their title-winning campaign.
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