Liverpool wins the Premier League again, thirty years later

It will have taken thirty years – including three months to wonder if the coronavirus was not going to spoil everything – for the Liverpool of Jürgen Klopp to reign over English football again, after the defeat (2-1) Thursday June 25 from Manchester City in Chelsea. The Reds had done their part of the work on Wednesday, brilliantly and in the closed door of Anfield, crushing Crystal Palace (4-0).

With 86 points and 23 units ahead of Pep Guardiola’s men, seven days to go, Klopp’s team can finally breathe. Manchester City-Liverpool in a week at the Etihad Stadium, for the 32^e day, will look like handover between two teams that have been crushing the championship for two years.

At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky…

You’ll Never Walk Alone. https://t.co/W3StY8FSPM

— LFC (@Liverpool FC (Premier League Champions ????))

We can always regret that the Reds are sacred without playing, without audience and without real prospect of sharing their happiness with the supporters. But “Honestly, I don’t care”replied Klopp bluntly when asked if it would make him less happy.

This long-awaited epilogue erases three decades of frustration, punctuated by disillusionment in 2009, 2014 or even last year, when 97 points had not been enough against Citizens who had taken one more.

A year of records

This year, the Reds crushed the Premier League with an unquenchable thirst for victory that allowed them to often break the toughest locks in the very last minutes. Despite a plethora of stars – Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold or the trio Salah-Firmino-Mané, to name a few – it was their collective strength that impressed. Several records fallen along the way bear witness to this undivided domination.

Liverpool is, after 31 days, the earliest champion in history, since it took 33 for Manchester United in 2001 and City in 2018. This record is explained by a cannonball start: the Reds took 61 points out of 63 possible in the first 21 days, unheard of in the five major championships.

With 23 consecutive victories at home (current series), they also erased the Reds from the legendary Bill Shankly (21) from the shelves. They were 25 points ahead of City at one point, the biggest gap ever between a leader and his runner-up. And it’s not over: they can still do better than the 100 points achieved by City in 2017-2018 and their final lead of 19 points over the second, at the time Manchester United.

Ending the season with 19 wins in 19 games at Anfield doesn’t seem impossible either, even if, after the visits of the relegated Aston Villa and the midfielder Burnley team, it would be necessary to take the best on Chelsea, who will play can -be its place in the Champions League, during the 37^e day. This season, which also saw the Reds win their first Club World Cup in Qatar in December, will undoubtedly have a good place in their very rich history.