Why Liverpool are so far ahead of every other Premier League team this season | OneFootball

Liverpool are comfortably first in the Premier League, sitting 13 points clear, and look set to win their first league title in five years.

Since winning the Premier League in 2019-20, Liverpool have had to watch on as fierce rivals Manchester City have dominated the top flight. In the past two seasons, Arsenal have been Man City’s closest challengers, not Liverpool.

But why are Liverpool so far ahead of everyone else? What has new manager Arne Slot doe that has worked so well, and so fast? Let’s let the numbers tell the story.

The best player

It would be unfair to start anywhere else than looking at Mo Salah, far and away the best player in the Premier League this season. The Egyptian has had a hand – or foot – in 64% of Liverpool’s goals this season (25 goals + 17 assists), by far the best mark in the league. Newcastle United‘s Alexander Isak is the only other player above 50% in this stat.

On pace to become only the second ever footballer in Premier League history to record 20+ goals and assists after Thierry Henry, Salah has been doing everything and more to ensure that the Reds lift the trophy once again.

A lot is talked about Salah’s supposedly low Expected Assists tally (6.8), but not enough is talked about his big chance creating. The Egyptian has created 21 big chances in the Premier League this season, with only Barcelona’s Raphinha (21) created more across Europe’s top 10 leagues.

Salah’s striking skills have also been superb. Out of the 51 players to have recorded an Expected Goals total of 10 or more in the top-10 leagues so far, Salah ranks sixth in efficiency (88th percentile). He overperforms his expectations by 4.8 goals. And more importantly, he’s scored 25 times, more than anyone in this group.

Leaning into their strengths

Slot arrived in Liverpool just seven months ago, but appears to have quickly understood where his best chances to succeed on the pitch lie. The Dutchman put his three best shot-creating threats on the right side of the pitch (Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold) and let the rest take care of itself.

Dividing the pitch vertically in three, 36% of the Reds’ chances in the Premier League so far have come from the right side, and 35% from central – where those same three players also operate from time to time. The left side with a declining Andrew Robertson has been less used, bringing only 29% of Liverpool’s shots.

Another thing Liverpool lean into is efficiency. Having a great set of players is certainly useful, but simplifying the game also helps. In theory, as closer to the goal a team shoots, the closer they are to scoring. Liverpool have the second-lowest average distance in shots in the Premier League this season and the second-highest percentage of shots taken inside the box. Brentford lead both categories.

This approach, along with the individual quality of the players, has led to Liverpool having, by far, the largest amount of big chances in the Premier League this season: 110 – 16 more than second-placed Chelsea.

Lastly, but most definitely not the least important, the Anfield factor. The Reds hold the best home record in the league with a comfortable four-point margin, with the best defence and second-best attack on their own turf.

Adaptability

Slot has also shown more tactical flexibility in terms of keeping possession (or not). So far in the 2024-25 Premier League, Liverpool have had less than 50% possession in eight of their 28 matches. This is their most in a single campaign since 2014-15 (10 times). And they’ve still got 10 games left to play.

Proportionally, Liverpool have had less possession than their opponents in 28.6% of their games this season — their most since 2013-14, when they had less possession in 28.9% of their matches (11/38).

And to their credit, Liverpool have certainly made the most of their time without the bal. The Reds have won seven and drawn one of the eight matches in which they’ve had less possession than their opponents this season.

This season, the Reds have even gone as far as recording their lowest ball retention in a Premier League win on record — 34% in their win over Man City last weekend.

The Slot revolution has not only maintained the overall posture and high intensity seen with Jurgen Klopp over the past 10 years, but also added other characteristics that have only improved the team as a whole. The result is what looks like a certain league title in the Dutchman’s first attempt.