5 clubs who choked in the Premier League title race

#1 Liverpool 2013/2014

Gerrard consoling Suarez after Liverpool's capitulation

After the highs of the mid noughties which saw Liverpool reestablish themselves as European heavyweights under Rafa Benitez (although they quite failed to translate that onto the domestic scene), The Reds descended back into mediocrity at the start of the next decade, overtaken by clubs like Manchester City and Tottenham on the English football hierarchy.

The objective at the beginning of the 2013/2014 season was just to qualify for the Champions League (which they had not done since 2008/2009).

However, a blistering start to the campaign restored belief in the club, while a season record of 11 consecutive wins transformed the club from ordinary to spectacular, sent them to the top of the table and got fans dreaming of a first ever Premier League title.

Their charge was led by the Golden Boot winning Luis Suarez, ably supported by Daniel Sturridge (second highest goalscorer in the league), Steven Gerrard (who had a league high 13 assists) as well as Raheem Sterling and Phillippe Coutinho.

Liverpool were breathtaking to watch that season and scored a grand total of 101 goals (which is the fourth highest number scored in Premier League history, as well as the highest scored by a team not to win the title).

Nevertheless, for all of their attacking impetus, The Reds always had a soft underbelly, evidenced by the fact that the club conceded 50 goals that season (which was the ninth worst in the entirety of the league that term) and this defensive frailty came back to haunt them.

At the end of March that season, Liverpool were engaged in a three-way race with Chelsea and City for the league title, but a Chelsea loss against Crystal Palace effectively ruled The Blues out and Liverpool's 3-2 victory over Manchester City in an emotional match on April 13 (two days to the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster) firmly put Liverpool in the driving seat with just four matches left.

What happened next can only be best imagined, as a 2-0 loss at home to Chelsea (via a Gerrard slip) handed the initiative back to City and a 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace (where Palace came back from three goals down to level the match) effectively handed the title to City.

Liverpool ended the season in second place, two points behind City, which was a shame considering how brilliant hey had been throughout the campaign. Surely lightning cannot strike twice can it?