With Manchester City preparing to visit Anfield on Sunday, Liverpool fans are reflecting on three seasons where the title might have been theirs had City not been found guilty of 114 financial breaches. An independent commission ruled that City distorted their finances by more than £900m between 2009 and 2018, leaving rivals to wonder what could have been.
A Cherished 2013/14 Campaign
Liverpool came within two points of ending a 25-year title drought in 2013/14, finishing on 84 points behind City. Luis Suarez scored 31 goals and provided 13 assists in 33 league appearances, with Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling, and Philippe Coutinho supporting him. Steven Gerrard's last great season was marred only by a slip against Chelsea, ending an 11-game winning streak that had started with a 5-1 win over Arsenal.
City spent £90m on new signings that summer, including Fernandinho, who became a key figure in their success. Liverpool lost 2-1 at the Etihad, where Sterling had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside and a late penalty shout for a foul on Suarez was denied. Had Liverpool won the title, Sterling might not have moved to City a year later, and Suarez's departure could have been delayed, potentially keeping Brendan Rodgers in charge beyond autumn 2015.
The 97-Point Heartbreak of 2018/19
Liverpool's 97-point tally in 2018/19 has been beaten only three times in Premier League history, yet City won the title with 98 points. Klopp's side, featuring Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah, lost only one league game all season. That defeat came at the Etihad, where a goal-line clearance by John Stones prevented a goal by just 1.12cm. Stones had been signed in a summer when City's net spend reached £143m.
In the same game, Vincent Kompany escaped with a yellow card for a two-footed lunge on Salah. City were under investigation by UEFA that season, and were initially banned from European competitions for two years in February 2020, though the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban due to a statute of limitations. That recourse is not available this time, but Liverpool are unlikely to receive retrospective titles from 2018/19 onwards because the investigation covers up to 2018.
The Near-Miss of 2021/22
Liverpool finished on 92 points in 2021/22, one behind City's 93, with both meetings ending 2-2. The Reds were denied a domestic treble on the final day when City came from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa, with Philippe Coutinho scoring for Villa in the 69th minute. A potential quadruple turned into a domestic cup double, and Klopp never lifted a league title in front of fans.
The season ended with a sense of 'what if', as the intangibles of momentum and 'vibes' cannot be recreated if titles are stripped retrospectively. That wound remains, even if City never play in the Premier League again.
