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How each Premier League team top on Christmas Day fared in title race - bad Liverpool omen
Liverpool have topped the Premier League table at Christmas on four previous occasions.
Liverpool lead the Premier League title race with one game in hand as they begin to close in on their first top-flight success since 1990. The Reds do not have a good track record of leading at Christmas, however.
The Merseyside club have topped the table on December 25 on four previous occasions - in 1996, 2008, 2013 and 2018.
On every occasion, though, the title has landed elsewhere to prolong the club’s wait for that coveted 19th league title.
Liverpool are not isolated in their failure to maintain a lead from Christmas, though, with the same occurring to varying sides on nine other instances.
Express Sport recounts how every side to be top of the Premier League at Christmas fared in their pursuit of silverware…
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2018/19 - Liverpool
Final position: 2nd
The Reds boasted a four-point lead on Manchester City but then lost to them eight days later and, in the highest-level title race the league has seen, lost out to Pep Guardiola's side by one point.
2017/18 - Manchester City
Final position: 1st
The Citizens could only drop off from Christmas, up to which point they averaged 2.89 point per game, but became the first-ever top-flight side to reach 100 points in the history of English football.
2016/17 - Chelsea
Final position: 1st
Despite a rocky start, Antonio Conte's switch to three at the back yielded success for Chelsea and they did not let up top spot.
2015/16 - Leicester
Final position: 1st
The football world was waiting for the Foxes to slip up - but Claudio Ranieri's men instead held their nerve to pull off the most surprising title win in top-flight history.
2014/15 - Chelsea
Final position: 1st
Jose Mourinho's second season back in English football was wholly convincing, with the west London side extending their lead from three points on Christmas to eight by May.
2013/14 - Liverpool
Final position: 2nd
Only one of five sides to actually improve their points-per-game average after Christmas - but Manchester City pipped them to the post after the most calamitous of slip-ups.
2012/13 - Man Utd
Final position: 1st
Sir Alex Ferguson's farewell was plain sailing from the festive season to the spring, largely thanks to Robin van Persie.
2011/12 - Man City
Final position: 1st
Despite a two-point lead becoming an eight-point deficit by April, a late rally from Manchester City and the most memorable final day in Premier League history made them the fifth club to win the competition.
2010/11 - Man Utd
Final position: 1st
The 12th Premier League title at Old Trafford was sealed with just 80 points.
2009/10 - Chelsea
Final position: 1st
Another one-point margin at the top secured the championship, along with 103 goals for Carlo Ancelotti's team.
2008/09 - Liverpool
Final position: 2nd
Rafa Benitez came close to bringing the cream of domestic silverware back to Anfield but - despite two wins against Manchester United that season - lost out to their cross-city adversaries.
2007/08 - Arsenal
Final position: 3rd
The begin of a trend for the Gunners in which they started strongly and tailed off, allowing Manchester United to stay at the summit.
2006/07 - Man Utd
Final position: 1st
A compelling title race ended with the trophy back in Manchester with another iteration of Sir Alex Ferguson's great sides beckoning.
2005/06 - Chelsea
Final position: 1st
Chelsea had strong competition from Manchester United and Liverpool but had the mettle to win the league by eight points.
2004/05 - Chelsea
Final position: 1st
Jose Mourinho inspired The Blues to their first top-flight title since 1955 as they collected a then-record 95 points.
2003/04 - Man Utd
Final position: 3rd
Arsenal's Invincibles eventually rose to the top with nine losses hampering Sir Alex Feguson's side.
2002/03 - Arsenal
Final position: 2nd
Arsene Wenger heaped pressure on his team by predicting they would go the season unbeaten; he was one season premature as another tussle with Manchester United ended with the crown at Old Trafford.
2001/02 - Newcastle
Final position: 4th
Sir Bobby Robson got his hometown club off to a flier but could not withhold Arsenal's surge.
2000/01 - Man Utd
Final position: 1st
Sir Alex Ferguson's third consecutive title for the first time as Manchester United boss was a relatively straightforward.
1999/00 - Leeds
Final position: 3rd
The last Division One winners were primed to claim their first title since the re-brand but ended up missing out to Manchester United by a mammoth 22 points.
1998/99 - Aston Villa
Final position: 6th
The biggest drop-off of any team top on December 25, Villa went from averaging two points per game to 0.9 after opening their Christmas presents.
1997/98 - Man Utd
Final position: 2nd
The Red Devils and Arsenal went nip and tuck in Arsene Wenger's first full season but the Gunners' held out to win by one point.
1996/97 - Liverpool
Final position: 4th
Manchester United needed only 75 points to win the title this season - the lowest amount amassed by any championship-winning side in the competition - and their arch rivals, like most teams, could not maintain consistency at the top.
1995/96 - Newcastle
Final position: 2nd
The Entertainer' thrilled the neutrals but fell short to the master of mind games, Sir Alex Ferguson, who Kevin Keegan would love to have beaten.
1994/95 - Blackburn
Final position: 1st
Kenny Dalglish's side just about held their nerve to see of Manchester United by one point, despite losing 2-1 at Liverpool on the final day.
1993/94 - Man Utd
Final position: 1st
Sir Alex Ferguson steered United to a comfortable title win with Eric Cantona cementing his talisman status.
1992/93 - Norwich
Final position: 3rd
After getting off to a blinder in the inaugural Premier League season, the Canaries lost their way in the second half of the 42-game season and bizarrely finished with a negative goal difference.