After 30 years, Liverpool have been crowned the champions of England. With Chelsea beating title-holders Manchester City 2-1 at the Stamford Bridge in London, Liverpool are now safe and secure in the Premier League leaderboard with 86 points out of 31 games, and seven matches left to play.
Chelsea took the lead against Pep Guardiola's City in the 36th minute; Christian Pulisic made the best of a defensive mix-up and slotted one past goalkeeper Ederson in an impressive solo effort. City's talisman midfielder Kevin De Bruyne equalised in the 55th minute, but they could not hold on to it. Fernandinho was shown a red card in the 77th minute for handling the ball inside the penalty box and Willian pulled Chelsea back to the lead.
A long awaited day for Anfield
Liverpool won their last English league in 1989-90. Since then, it has been a roller-coaster ride with over a billion dollars spent on the team, and a total of nine managers. There have been a lot of agonisingly close moments. In 2014, they missed out by the skin of the teeth after a defeat against Chelsea (Gerrard slip, Demba Ba goal). In 2019, they lost to Manchester City by a solitary point as the title race dragged on to the very last day of the season.
German manager Jurgen Klopp, now an iconic figure at the club, reached Anfield in 2015 after the sacking of Brendan Rodgers. Since his arrival, and following a club overhaul, Liverpool have been consistent title contenders, three-time European finalists, and winners of the 2019 Champions League.
The present
Liverpool is currently the premier league winner, European champion and club World Cup holder. Said Klopp, according to Telegraph: “It is a big moment. I am completely overwhelmed. I had no idea it would feel like this. We had to convince people and that is what we did together. For the fans, it is for you. It is incredible. I could not be more proud or what a lot of people in Liverpool did. It has been a very exciting ride since the first day. Now we can enjoy this moment. It is the best thing I can imagine. It is more than I can dream of. It was quite intense. But it was an incredible achievement of my players, what they did over the last two or three years is exceptional and a huge joy for me to coach them."
Liverpool owner John W. Henry tweeted: "It has been an incredible year of magnificent achievement culminating tonight in capturing the Premier League title. The totality of this accomplishment has brought respite and joy to so many in a year filled with so much tragedy. Liverpool has made the beautiful game more beautiful than ever."