Liverpool has crowned Premier league Champions without kicking a ball on Thursday when Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City ended the Reds’ 30-year wait to win the English title. Jurgen Klopp’s men sealed a 19-league title for the club with a record seven games to play after the City’s second-place loss left them 23 points adrift. Liverpool had moved within two points of the title with a 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace at Anfield on Wednesday.
His 28th win in 31 league games this season led Liverpool star Mohamed Salah to declare “now is our time to win the league” and 24 hours later his wish was granted.
Liverpool got the favor they wanted from Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Willian’s 78-minute penalty, awarded by a Fernandinho handball, ended the City’s two-year reign as champions after Kevin De Bruyne canceled Christian Pulisic’s first game.
Liverpool has secured the title before any other Premier League champion, breaking the previous record of five games left by City and Manchester United.
It’s been an agonizing wait for Liverpool fans around the world, with the coronavirus hiatus forcing them to put the champagne on ice after the Premier League was suspended in March with Klopp’s team two title victories.
The three-month delay was a final obstacle on Liverpool’s long journey back to the pinnacle of English football.
Liverpool spent years in the shadow of Manchester United archrivals during the Alex Ferguson era before being left behind by massive spending by Manchester City and Chelsea.
Then, managed by Brendan Rodgers, they infamously missed a golden opportunity to win the title in 2014 when Reds captain Steven Gerrard made his costly slip in a late-season loss against Chelsea.
But the Klopp team are deserved champions after an incredible campaign that could end in record style.
Liverpool, now one title away from the record-high 20 in Manchester United’s English record, is on track to surpass Manchester City’s 100-point total in 2017/18.
Klopp’s men could break the record for the highest winning margin, set by City when they finished 19 clear points at the top in the same season.
They’re also within walking distance of the most wins in a Premier League season: 32 by the city in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
We can play pretty well
Klopp, the first German coach to win the Premier League, has been the architect of Liverpool’s renaissance since the former Borussia Dortmund boss arrived in Anfield in 2015.
Infusing his players with a belief in his “heavy metal” football and high-tempo game plan “pressing gegen”, the charismatic Klopp has earned his place alongside iconic former Liverpool managers Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish.
When Dalglish brought Liverpool to the title in 1990, the award that Shankly once described as the club’s “bread and butter” was almost taken for granted after two decades of dominance.
After years of underperformance, Klopp has returned his unique style and major trophies to Liverpool.
They won the Champions League last season when they beat Tottenham in the final, 12 months after losing to Real Madrid at the same stage of the competition.
Manchester City beat Liverpool on the last day of last season, finishing with a record 97 points for the top-tier runners-up.
But with Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino forming a formidable front three, Jordan Henderson a tireless presence in the midfield and Virgil van Dijk imperious in the back, Liverpool have left City behind this season.
It was fitting for Liverpool to save one of its most eye-catching performances for the week it won the title.
After destroying the Palace, Klopp said: “Imagine if the stadium had been full and people could have experienced it live. It would have been amazing.
“This game will last a while in my mind, this is what we want to be.”
“We can’t play like other teams, but we can play pretty good things.”
Klopp’s frustration that matches are played behind closed doors today will fade over time.
It will be the memories left by your transcendent team that lasts the longest.
Historians at the Kop are sure to rank this Liverpool team, also crowned World Club champion in December, along with the 1979 and 1988 vintages as one of the best to wear the famous red jersey.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.