Five consecutive wins. Title pace. Then four consecutive losses and the dream was over. Liverpool's 2025-26 season through 23 matches is a case study in momentum collapse. The numbers tell a brutal story.

Every single metric screams mid-table mediocrity. This isn't variance. This is who Liverpool are this season.

Act I: The Dream Start (GW1-5)

Liverpool began the season exactly as champions should. Five consecutive wins. Fifteen points from fifteen available. Three goals per game. Opponents dispatched with authority.

Bournemouth demolished 4-2 at Anfield. Arsenal shut out 1-0. Away wins at Newcastle (3-2) and Burnley (1-0) suggested the road curse was broken. This was title-winning form: 3.0 PPG, defensive solidity (1.0 goals conceded per match), attacking potency (2.2 goals scored per match).

For 450 minutes, Liverpool looked like champions. Then reality arrived.

Act II: The Collapse (GW6-12)

The implosion was swift and merciless.

Crystal Palace away: Lost 2-1. Chelsea away: Lost 2-1. Then the unthinkable—Man United 2-1 at home. Followed immediately by Brentford 3-2 away. Four consecutive losses. Zero points from twelve available.

Over seven matches, Liverpool went from title contenders to relegation form. The attacking output evaporated. The defense collapsed. Two home defeats—to Man United and Nottingham Forest—exposed something fundamentally broken.

By early November, the title race was over. Liverpool had imploded in four weeks.

Act III: Mediocrity (GW13-23)

Since the collapse, Liverpool have stabilized without excelling. Record: 6W-6D-2L from 14 matches. That's 24 points—1.71 PPG. Better than free fall, but nowhere near title pace.

The problem? Six draws. Six matches where Liverpool couldn't finish opponents:

• Sunderland 1-1 (H)
• Leeds 3-3 (A)
• Leeds 0-0 (H)
• Fulham 2-2 (A)
• Arsenal 0-0 (A)
• Burnley 1-1 (H)

Three home draws to inferior opposition. Twelve points dropped. The difference between fighting for fourth and Europa League.

Recent Form: Déjà Vu

Most alarming is the current trajectory. Last five matches: 0 wins, 4 points from 15. Three consecutive draws followed by a loss. The pattern from GW6-12 is repeating. Momentum is gone. Confidence is fractured. They're in free fall again.

The Defensive Crisis

If one number explains this season, it's this: 32 goals conceded in 23 matches (1.39 per game).

Title winners concede 0.8-1.0 per match and keep clean sheets in 45-50% of games. Liverpool are conceding 1.39 per match and keeping clean sheets in 30% of games. That's relegation-level defensive metrics.

When Liverpool concede two or more—which happens nearly half the time—they almost never win. The defense isn't just porous. It's actively losing points.

The Home/Away Chasm

Title challengers dominate everywhere. Liverpool dominate at home. Sometimes.

Home: 1.91 PPG. Respectable but not dominant. Two home losses to United and Forest are inexcusable.

Away: 1.25 PPG. Mid-table standard. Liverpool have a negative goal difference on the road (19-21). The 0.66 PPG gap between home and away is damning. Title winners achieve 1.8-2.0 PPG away. Liverpool can't crack 1.3.

What's Actually Broken

1. Defensive Structure

1.39 goals conceded per match isn't bad luck. It's systematic failure. Whether it's high-line vulnerability, transition defense, set pieces, or individual errors—something is fundamentally wrong. And 23 matches in, it's not improving.

2. Away Mentality

1.25 PPG away is unacceptable. Liverpool can't control games on the road, respond to adversity, break down deep blocks, or protect leads. Every away match feels like a coin flip.

3. Mental Fragility

Two separate multi-match losing streaks (GW6-9, GW11-12) reveal a team that loses confidence quickly and can't arrest slides. Good teams have bad spells of 2-3 matches. Liverpool's lasted seven.

4. Finishing Games

Six draws represent 12 dropped points—the difference between competing for top four and Europa League. Liverpool dominate but don't kill. Leads feel fragile. Opponents always believe they can get something.

The data doesn't care about narratives. Liverpool are conceding like a bottom-half team, drawing like a mid-table side, and winning just often enough to avoid true crisis. But this IS a crisis.

The Reality Check

Current pace: 59 points

• Title winners: 85-95 points
• Top 4: 70-75 points
• Europa League: 60-65 points
• Liverpool: 59 points (7th-8th place)

The title race ended in October. Top four requires drastic improvement—Liverpool need 2.27 PPG from their final 15 matches. Current form over the last five? 0.80 PPG. They're going the wrong direction.

The Verdict

This isn't a case of fine margins. The numbers are unequivocal:

• Defensive metrics: bottom-half standard
• Away form: mid-table quality
• Clean sheet rate: relegation-level
• Points per game: 7th-8th place pace

Liverpool looked like champions for exactly five matches. Then the collapse revealed who this team actually is: a side that dominates matches without controlling danger, defends poorly, crumbles on the road, and lacks the resilience to recover from adversity.

The season started with 15 points from 15. It will end with Liverpool fighting for Europa League qualification.

Five wins. Four losses. The dream died in four weeks. The data tells the story of a season that was over before winter arrived.

All statistics sourced from FPL API data through Gameweek 23, 2025-26 Premier League season.