Liverpool enjoyed a memorable season, scoring 101 league goals; the highest number of goals scored by a Premier League runner-up, until 2020, when Manchester City scored 106 goals while finishing second. It is also the fifth highest number of goals ever scored in the Premier League.[3]
Liverpool had a pre-season dominated by speculation about whether Luis Suárez would leave the club. Suárez had served four matches of a ten-match ban for biting Branislav Ivanović in the previous season,[5] and Arsenal reportedly agreed terms and offered £40,000,001 for the player based on a rumoured £40 million release clause in Suárez's contract.[6] Suárez stated he would like to leave the club[7] and was then told to train away from the first-team squad.[8] On 8 August, Liverpool owner John W. Henry stated that Suárez would not be allowed to leave the club.[9]
A Simon Mignolet penalty save on the opening day gave Liverpool the first of three 1–0 victories to begin the season. A subsequent draw and loss saw Liverpool drop to fifth place on the table when Suárez completed his ban. From the next match until the end of the season, Liverpool would average 2.9 goals per game. They were top of the table at Christmas before back-to-back 2–1 losses away at Manchester City and Chelsea. In that key Manchester City fixture, Raheem Sterling was onside by well over a metre but had his goal disallowed for offside in an "awful decision"[10] that both BT Sport commentators called as onside immediately, saying "you could see it with your naked eye".[10]
A 5–1 home win over then league-leaders Arsenal on 5 February featured four Liverpool goals in the opening 20 minutes. With a mid-week 90th minute penalty at Fulham, Liverpool won again and the winning run would eventually extend to 11 games, included Liverpool defeating title rival, Manchester City, on 13 April, in the same week as the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. A subsequent mid-week Manchester City draw meant Liverpool would win the league if they got ten points from their remaining 4 games.
Their next match was a 2–3 away win at Norwich City that secured Liverpool's pre-season aim of qualifying for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. However, the following 0–2 home defeat to Chelsea put the title back in Manchester City's favour due to their significantly better goal difference.[11][12] That pivotal match was marred by Chelsea's "comically brazen" time-wasting,[13] that went unpunished until the 93rd minute by Martin Atkinson (despite José Mourinho telling his players he wanted "at least two bookings for time-wasting before half-time"),[14] and it is foremost known for a Steven Gerrard slip that led to Chelsea's key goal by Demba Ba. Gerrard has spoken of his anguish over the slip, saying it was "even tougher than what people probably think it was".[15] Other key moments cited as playing a part in Liverpool falling short of the title include the previously mentioned incorrectly disallowed goal by Raheem Sterling at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium,[16]Kolo Touré passing the ball to Victor Anichebe allowing West Bromwich Albion to earn a draw on 2 February[17] and Jordan Henderson's 93rd minute sending-off (and associated three-match ban) in the home game versus Manchester City, which Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers thought was "a huge miss for us" because Liverpool "couldn't replace Jordan".[18][19][20]
Liverpool's attempts to reverse Manchester City's +9 goal difference advantage in their penultimate game against Crystal Palace saw their initial 0–3 lead pegged back to a 3–3 draw.[21] Liverpool finished in second place, two points behind Manchester City, after they defeated Newcastle United on the final day. This represented the closest the club had come to winning the league title since 1990.
This season recorded an all-time high mark of goals scored by Liverpool not only in Premier League seasons, but in all their English top flight seasons. Only in 1895–96 Division 2 did the Reds score more league goals over the course of a season – 106 versus 101 they netted this season.
Source: Barclays Premier League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champion, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[54] (C) Champions
^Carroll, James (2 July 2013). "Reds complete Toure deal". liverpoolfc.com. Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
^Shaw, Chris (2 September 2013). "Reds announce Sakho signing". liverpoolfc.com. Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
^Carroll, James (12 July 2013). "Reds confirm Suso loan". liverpoolfc.com. Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
^Carroll, James (27 August 2013). "Assaidi joins Stoke on loan". liverpoolfc.com. Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
