Liverpool had very few problems with the weaker Premier League teams in 2021/22. They won 21 of their 22 matches against the clubs who finished below ninth, drawing the other (at Brentford).
Extend the sample to the 16 teams who missed out on Champions League qualification, and they still only dropped points on four occasions. But in a mini league of the sides who finished in the top four, the Reds were bottom. They might not have lost to Manchester City, Chelsea or Tottenham but neither did they beat any of them.
Goals were not especially a problem. Liverpool scored in every match and led at least once against all three teams. But across the six games against the rest of the top four, they had a total of 27 shots after the scoreline reached what became the full-time result. If any one of them had gone in, Jurgen Klopp’s side might well have been champions.
