So, Liverpool can actually be beaten in 2020. We all knew this had to happen some day this calendar year. Once again, it is a foreign team, Atletico Madrid, who joined Napoli in pulling off what no English team has managed to do so far this season: beat the Reds.
The last time Liverpool lost a match domestically, it was Aston Villa who beat then 5-0 in the Carabao Cup on the 17th of December. There was a valid reason for that result, however, and it was because Jürgen Klopp fielded a significantly weakened team.
Most of his experienced first-team players were en-route to Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup Final match against CR Flamengo at the time. Liverpool were the victors, albeit in a competition that received very little publicity worldwide.
It meant that the Liverpool team which took the field against Villa consisted of mostly inexperienced players, including five from their youth academy who had no actual prior first-team, ever.
But as far as the Premier League is concerned, you have to go way back to the 3rd of January 2019, to find when Liverpool last lost a Premier League game, a 2-1 setback at the hands of Manchester City.
Since then, the Reds have taken on all other sides in the Premier League, including clubs promoted from the Championship at the end of last season and have not succumbed to any of them.
Is Liverpool really the greatest ever English top flight club? Who will remain unbeaten for the rest of this Premier League season? Or is there something else at work here?
Have the other Premiership sides simply psyched themselves out?
Perhaps the reason that Atletico Madrid beat Liverpool last Tuesday was down to the fact that they weren’t awestruck. They took an early chance and then battened down the hatches and successfully kept Jürgen Klopp’s men at bay. If that is true, then the Premiership clubs who will face Liverpool between now and season’s end should take heart.
Yes, there is no doubt that this current Liverpool side is excellent. They deserve the accolades that have been given and their commanding lead at the top of the table. But, to remain totally unbeaten this season? Maybe not.
As Danny Murphy said in a recent interview, Liverpool will win the Premiership crown but quite often, their performances have not been as dominating as they were last season, despite their second place finish.
A good example is the match against lowly Norwich, who are now stranded eight points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table. They nearly pulled off a surprise result, but for three things. Firstly, the open chance on the Liverpool goal that Lukas Rupp and Teemu Pukki managed to squander between them. Secondly, the brilliance of Liverpool’s goalkeeper, Allison and finally the saving grace of the introduction of Liverpool super-sub, Sadio Mane.
In the end, Norwich bowed to pressure from the Reds and handed them their 26th undefeated game of the season. With a little less respect for Liverpool’s reputation, as per Atletico Madrid, Norwich could have made headlines by becoming the team to halt the Reds seemingly unstoppable run.
But Liverpool could have some tricky fixtures coming up if only their opponents can ignore the myth being built up. Any upset, however, is likely to come from the lesser name clubs. Not the Manchester Cities, the Arsenals and the Chelseas but teams like Watford and Bournemouth. Teams struggling for their premiership existence. All we can do is wait and see.