Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and teammates of Liverpool react during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Anfield on November 22, 2025 in Liverpool, England.placeholder image
Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and teammates of Liverpool react during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Anfield on November 22, 2025 in Liverpool, England. | Getty Images
Liverpool's Premier League title defence looks bound for failure after they were beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday afternoon
The Reds went 1-0 down in the first half to a goal from Murillo with the visitors scoring early in the second half and then in the final quarter to clinch a deserved win. The nature of the defeat will send worrying signals to supporters who would have hoped to see some sort of response after a 3-0 loss to Manchester City before the international break.
However, Liverpool’s defence of their title looks set to be nothing more than a whimper as they face a fight to finish in the top four. They are 11th in the table with the three sides immediately above them still to play this weekend.
With Liverpool unlikely to defend their title, we have looked at the five worst title defences in the competition’s history. Each team on the list has been judged by how many points they picked up compared to when they won the title.
Liverpool finished with 84 points last season, so would need to finish with 60 points or fewer to make their way onto this list. They have so far picked up 1.5 points per game, which puts them on course to finish the campaign with 57 points - which would be 27 fewer than last season. Let’s see how that compares to the worst defences in history...
5th: Chelsea - 2017/18
Chelsea won the title in 2016/17 under Antonio Conte in what was the Italian’s first season at the club. They picked up 93 points as they eased towards the Premier League. However, the following season they picked up just 70 points.
That was a difference of 23 as they lost 10 of their 38 matches and finished fifth - missing out on the Champions League.
4th: Manchester United - 2013-14
Manchester United won the Premier League title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season at the club. David Moyes was appointed as his replacement but it did not work out for the current Everton boss as he was sacked by the Old Trafford hierarchy in April 2014.
The Red Devils lost 12 of their 38 games, with just 64 points - which was 25 fewer than the previous campaign. They placed seventh.
3rd: Blackburn Rovers - 1995-96
Blackburn won what proved to be their only Premier League title in 1994-95 as they limped over the line to finish above Man United by one point. Kenny Dalglish left his post as manager after winning the league and Rovers struggled to cope with the loss of the ex-Liverpool man.
They started the season terribly but recovered somewhat to end the campaign]n in seventh place. They lost 13 games, finishing with 61 points - 28 fewer than when they won the title.
2nd: Chelsea - 2015-16
Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea and won the league in 2014-15. However, things quickly went downhill for the Blues the following campaign. Mourinho was sacked in December as Chelsea picked up just 50 points and finished 10th in the table.
The 50-point tally was 37 fewer than the previous season.
1st: Leicester City - 2016/17
Leicester City’s title win in 2015-16 is arguably the greatest triumph in Premier League history - given it’s unlikely nature before a ball was kicked. They won the title with 81 points as the Foxes produced a fairytale campaign to win the title.
They finished the next season with just 44 points, 37 fewer than the previous campaign. They also ended the campaign in the bottom half, placing 12th.
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