Liverpool fans must be wondering what more their team could have done after they picked up 97 points and still did not win the Premier League, yet the Reds are not alone in coming up just short in a title race despite performing superbly.
Jurgen Klopp s side won 30 of their 38 matches and lost just once, only to miss out on the title by one point as Pep Guardiola s Manchester City retained the trophy on Sunday.
Liverpool s 97-point haul is the best accrued by a team that has finished second in the Premier League s 20-club era.
But how does it compare to other runners-up in Europe s major leagues, who racked up the points but still finished without winners medals?
1 Liverpool became the first team in top-flight history to win as many as 30 games and 97 points in a season and not win the title. Additionally, no side has ever previously lost just one game in a top-flight season and not won the title. Margins.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Scottish Premier League 2002-03: Celtic (97 points)
Finishing second with 97 points has been done before, and Celtic came even closer than Liverpool. Celtic and their Glasgow rivals Rangers finished with identical records (31 wins, four draws and three defeats) but the Gers, who scored 101 times, had a +73 goal difference, one better than the Bhoys +72. The two had the same goal difference heading into the final round of games but Rangers 6-1 victory over Dunfermline meant they got the trophy instead of Celtic, who could only win 4-0 against Kilmarnock.
LaLiga 2009-10: Real Madrid (96 points)
After bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema before the season, Real Madrid would surely have expected to end the campaign with some silverware. Yet it was Guardiola s Barcelona who once again won the title. Madrid scored 102 goals and had 31 victories as many as Barca. However, four defeats, including two to their great rivals proved costly in the final standings as Barca finished three clear on 99 points.
