Let’s leave the world, European and new Premier League champions to their celebrations. It’ll be a night to remember. Andy Hunter was at the ground, and here’s his report on the eight-goal thriller Liverpool and Chelsea served up. Thanks for reading the MBM. Nighty night ... and congratulations to Liverpool!
Here’s the captain Jordan Henderson. “We’ve been waiting a long time. The build-up, walking up there, was amazing. The lads deserved their moment tonight. Thankfully the families were up there watching it, which was a big thing for us as a team. It’s been an amazing season, and to crown it off like that was really special. After last season, getting 97 points but not winning it was hard to take. But then we reacted by winning the Champions League, and this season we knew we had unfinished business. I’m so thankful that I’m part of this club and part of this team that’s managed to get the Premier League after 30 years. The Premier League’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid. We can enjoy tonight, but next season’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
Then a message for the supporters - and it’s quite the message. “What can I say? If you don’t see that we do it for you, I can’t help you! Five years ago I asked you to change from doubters to believers, and you did it! You made us happen. Really, thank you very much. We all should celebrate together, at home. Be safe, drink what you want, but you have to prepare for a party in I don’t know when, when this bullshit virus is gone! Then we will have a party all together! Make sure you are ready then! Thank you very much.” It’s going to be some night, that, isn’t it.
“We are champions of England, Europe and the world. I know how it sounds but that’s the truth!” More from Klopp. “I couldn’t be more proud. I’m usually not the sort of person who needs pictures, as long as I can remember it. But I will have a picture with all four trophies. That doesn’t happen too often! So we should make sure we have this picture. But we can improve, we have to, the others will not sleep. No guarantees, but we will try!”
Klopp’s back! “That’s how life is, you make the best of what you can. Everything would be better with fans, I know that, but a few months ago we might not play football. If it was perfect the stadium would be full but we cannot change it. But we have tried to make it clear to the people that we do it for them. We celebrate here alone but only for the moment, and everybody celebrates at home.”
Jurgen Klopp comes across to talk to Kelly Cates, Sky Sports anchor and Kenny Dalglish’s daughter. But then You’ll Never Walk Alone blasts out of the PA, and he’s desperate to go back and join his team for an emotional singalong of the club anthem. Up in the stand, Dalglish and Ian Rush sway in unison. A few happy tears falling on Merseyside, across the country, and around the world right now, you can be sure of that..
Adam Lallana didn’t get on tonight to make his sentimental goodbyes to Anfield. But this is a lovely touch, as he’s the player who takes one handle of the trophy to raise it into the sky as Klopp takes the other. Not such a bad way to take your leave after all. The players then descend to pitch level, and quickly get stuck into the champagne as they bounce about with their shiny new toy. These are lovely scenes. Worth waiting three decades for!
The Liverpool squad jig in anticipation as Jordan Henderson slowly climbs the staircase. He embraces Dalglish, the joy sparkling in the old legend’s eyes. He hangs his medal around his neck, carefully takes the trophy from its plinth, goes to face the squad, teases them with his trademark soft-shoe shuffle, then spins and cries in delight as he raises the Premier League trophy! Down comes the ticker tape and glitter, up go some spectacular fireworks. After 30 years, they’re back. Number 19. Doubters into believers, just as Klopp promised!
Here comes Minamino, who has also won the Austrian league this season with Red Bull Salzburg! That’s quite the double. He’s flanked by Matip and Shaqiri. Young Neco Williams becomes only the fifth Welsh player to win the Premier League. Then Curtis Jones, who only qualified for his medal tonight. And so there’s just one more player to come. Here’s the captain ...
Then the squad come up, one by one, to receive their medals. Alisson. Adrian. Van Dijk. Firmino, with Champions 19/20 shirt on backwards and a pair of Rubber Soul era Beatles sunglasses on. Fabinho. Wijnaldum, who takes a selfie with King Kenny. Mane, striking a pose. Keita throws some shapes. Gomez with a Champions scarf. Origi mooches up quietly. Oxlade-Chamberlain bites his medal. The local hero Alexander-Arnold, already with most of the big medals at the age of 21. Robertson giving Milner a hug. Lallana, who didn’t get on today but doesn’t seem that fussed right now, smiling broadly. Lovren and his best mate Salah, both with red tints to their hair. There’ll be more...
The house lights go down ... then red beams glitter in the dark across the Kop. The Premier League trophy, bedecked in red ribbons, is placed on a podium by Sir Kenny Dalglish, the last manager to bring the title to Anfield. The new man, Jurgen Klopp, bounds up the steps, jumping with glee, to receive his medal. Then his backroom staff, followed by the squad members who don’t qualify for a medal: Caoimhin Kelleher, Andy Lonergan and Harvey Elliot, whose time will surely come. Who needs base metal? They’re all delighted!
While we wait for the big presentation ... here’s Andy Hunter’s match report.
A quick reminder of the last time Liverpool won the championship ...
They’re currently dressing up Anfield for the trophy presentation. A podium has been erected in the middle of the Kop, the beating heart of this famous old stadium. Plenty of project managers doing their thing right now. A lot of busy bustle.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 5-3 Chelsea
A magnificent night’s entertainment comes to an end. Well, not quite. Liverpool will be taking receipt of their shiny new trophy soon. A 30-year wait ends in 20 minutes or so. Chelsea meanwhile stay in fourth, and need a point against Wolves on Sunday to guarantee Champions League football next season.
90 min +4: Some head tennis in the Chelsea half. Everyone’s freewheeling towards the final whistle.
90 min +3: More fireworks.
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90 min +2: Robertson curls the free kick across the face of the Chelsea goal. Kepa leaves it to Zouma, who leaves it to Kepa. Van Dijk, ghosting in at the far post, tries to steer home from a tight angle but it’s always sailing over the bar.
90 min +1: Origi dribbles with poise and purpose down the left. He’s clumsily bowled over by James, and this is a free kick just to the left of the Chelsea box. Up come Liverpool’s big lads.
90 min: The free kick is a complete non-event. There will be five added minutes.
89 min: Milner barges Abraham off the ball down the Chelsea right. It looks a decent shoulder challenge, but the referee awards a free kick. Chelsea load the box again.
88 min: Emerson comes on for Alonso.
87 min: Liverpool replace Firmino and Mane with Minamino and Origi. That means we won’t see a sentimental Anfield farewell from Lallana. The way this game has gone, there can be no risk of a grand gesture.
85 min: This should be over now. It’s not, though, is it. Not yet.
GOAL! Liverpool 5-3 Chelsea (Oxlade-Chamberlain 84)
James whips the ball in. Liverpool clear, and break upfield. Mane slips Robertson away down the left. Robertson backs himself in a footrace with Jorginho, smacking the ball up the wing and chasing after it. He looks up and crosses deep. Jones lets the ball sail through to the better-positioned Oxlade-Chamberlain, who roofs home from ten yards.
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83 min: Gomez is booked for lunging in on the sensational Pulisic. A free kick out on the left. Chelsea load the box. James will take.
82 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain romps after a loose ball down the right. Kepa comes to the edge of his area to block, then claim. Outside, the fireworks start again. That’ll help settle Liverpool’s nerves, which have been on edge for 20 minutes now.
80 min: Chelsea continue to look for the equaliser. Azpilicueta has a dig from 25 yards but slashes it so wide left the ball flies out for a throw. On the touchline, a huge smile plays across Frank Lampard’s face. He’s having a much better time than Klopp right now.
79 min: Salah, who has burned through a fair number of chances this evening, is replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain.
77 min: Salah forces another corner, but this one floats straight over the box and Chelsea are able to launch a counter. Liverpool regroup, but Chelsea pin them back and probe. The visitors are asking a lot of questions here.
76 min: Robertson crosses long from the left. Rudiger doesn’t know what’s around him, and is forced to sidefoot out for a cheap Liverpool corner. Alexander-Arnold walks across slowly to take. He tries a cute short routine with Milner, but it doesn’t come off. Liverpool have lost all rhythm.
74 min: On the touchline, Klopp wears a wry grin. He quite clearly can’t believe what’s going on here. Hey, it was always going to be a surreal evening, one way or another.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-3 Chelsea (Pulisic 73)
Van Dijk and Gomez crash into each other, allowing Hudson-Odoi to zip down the right. He dinks into the middle. Pulisic brings the ball down with his back to goal, takes his time to turn, and lashes a superb shot into the top right! A great comeback is on!
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72 min: Mane should tear clear down the inside-left channel, but loses control of his legs and somehow tackles himself, allowing Zouma to ping clear.
71 min: Hudson-Odoi scampers into space down the right. Alonso is completely free in the middle, but Alexander-Arnold reads the cross that’s intended for him and whacks clear. Chelsea are pushing for a third, and if they get it, this could get extremely interesting.
69 min: Alisson restarts the game with a goal kick.
68 min: Pulisic - a player Klopp wanted to sign - skates down the left again and sends a rising shot towards the top left. It’s a wee bit too high, and Alisson had it covered anyway. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is drinks.
67 min: Liverpool make a double change. Keita and Wijnaldum off, Milner and Jones on. That’s a fifth appearance of the season for Jones, who now qualifies for a Premier League winner’s medal.
65 min: Outside the stadium, a spectacular firework display begins. Time for another reminder that this particular match isn’t over yet.
64 min: Pulisic should have another. He’s sent clear down the middle, James finding him with a curler from the right, Gomez playing him onside. But he snatches at his shot and the ball dribbles harmlessly wide left.
63 min: Hudson-Odoi, not wanting to be left out, shrugs Keita off in the middle of the park and sets Chelsea on the attack again. Nothing comes of this particular move, but this is quite the first impression by the three substitutes.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-2 Chelsea (Abraham 61)
Pulisic sashays down the inside-left channel, beating three men in the old-fashioned winger style. He breaks into the box and tees up Abraham, who slides home from six yards. What a run by the young American ... and what an instant impact by the subs!
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60 min: Pulisic is quickly into the game, taking down a long ball brilliantly. He’s forced to check back this time, but he quickly comes again, and ...
58 min: The corner’s taken. Then ball hits the ref, so play is stopped. Before it can start again, Chelsea make a triple sub, replacing their entire front line. Giroud, Mount and Willian make way for Abraham, Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic.
57 min: Wijnaldum strips the ball from a dithering Alonso. Salah takes over and drives towards goal. He’s one on one with Kepa, but hesitates, allowing Zouma to block his eventual shot. The ball balloons out for a corner.
56 min: Rudiger quarterbacks from deep and tries to release Willian, but there’s too much juice on the pass and it sails straight through to Alisson.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea (Firmino 54)
Liverpool continue to probe patiently. Then suddenly they spring to life, Gomes slipping a pass down the right for Alexander-Arnold, who delivers a can’t miss cross onto the head of Firmino. He makes no mistake. Bang, into the top left from close range. In the final home match of the season, Firmino gets his first league goal of the season at Anfield. His first here since March 2019.
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52 min: Some pinball in the Chelsea box. The ball falls to Robertson on the left. He creams a low cross towards Firmino, who is waiting to tap in. Rudiger scoops away for a corner, a goal-saving intervention. The corner’s cut back to Salah, who whistles a shot straight at Kepa.
51 min: Salah is sent clear down the middle, Rudiger left in the dust. He draws Kepa but then attempts a strange curler with the outside of his left boot, and sends the ball miles wide left. It was so far off target it nearly found Mane, rushing in from the wing. Goal kick.
49 min: Liverpool knock it around the middle for a while. No rush. Peter Oh has a question about Jordan Henderson’s technique: “Do you think he will lift the Premier League trophy in the same unorthodox base-forward way he did the Champions League trophy last year? Or will he adopt a more traditional straight-up hoist this time around?” Providing his knee is up to it, expect to see his fast tippy-toe jig again, which in an ideal world would be soundtracked by a Looney Tunes xylophone trill.
47 min: James curls one in from the right. He had space and time, but the cross is no good, and Van Dijk intercepts.
Liverpool get the second half underway. No changes.
Half-time entertainment from the Guardian archive.
HALF TIME: Liverpool 3-1 Chelsea
Well, that took over 20 minutes to get going. But when it finally did, it really really did. It’s all set up for an entertaining second half. Classic, please!
GOAL! Liverpool 3-1 Chelsea (Giroud 45+3)
Mount dinks a cross from the left. It pings off Alexander-Arnold and falls to Willian, who shoots hard at goal from ten yards. Alisson pulls off a fine reaction save, but the ball drops to Giroud, who forces the ball over the line from close range. This isn’t over yet!
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45 min +2: Firmino robs a dawdling Kovacic, who is very fortunate that the Brazilian scuffs a pass intended to release Keita down the middle.
45 min: That’s the tenth goal Chelsea have conceded from a corner this season. Only Norwich City (12) have a worse record.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-0 Chelsea (Wijnaldum 43)
Alexander-Arnold, deep on the right, swings a spectacular ball towards Salah, rushing into the area from the left. He traps and wins a corner off Rudiger. Robertson lashes the set piece towards the near post. It hits the swinging arm of Kovacic. Chelsea stop, waiting for the inevitable award of a penalty. Liverpool don’t stop. Wijnaldum skelps the loose ball into the top left. Chelsea are undone at a corner yet again.
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42 min: Willian slips Mount into space down the left. Giroud is free in the middle, but Mount’s cross is woefully overhit. Goal kick.
40 min: James swings one in from the right. Giroud knocks a gentle header into the arms of Alisson.
39 min: Frank Lampard wasn’t happy with the award of that free kick, and he had a point. It didn’t look like much of a foul, and Mane certainly made the most of it. But here we are.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea (Alexander-Arnold 38)
After an interminable wait, Alexander-Arnold steps up and replicates the stunning free kick he scored against Crystal Palace. It’s whipped up over the wall and into the top-right corner. Kepa was rooted to the spot. Again, he had no chance with that.
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36 min: Mane dribbles elegantly down the middle but has the ball toe-poked away from him by Kovacic. There’s a little contact, so Mane takes the opportunity to go over. It’s a free kick, 30 yards out in a central position. Chelsea aren’t happy about its award.
34 min: Liverpool calm everything down again with some metronomic passing.
32 min: James, deep on the right, rolls a diagonal pass towards Mount, who scoots clear from the centre circle and slots the ball under Alisson. The flag’s gone up for offside, though, correctly so, Van Dijk having craftily stepped up just before Mount made his run. VAR checks unnecessarily, because they’ve bought the equipment now and lost the receipt.
31 min: Salah swans past Rudiger down the right, and tries to poke home at the near post from a tight angle. The ball’s deflected out for a corner, which is hit long. Wijnaldum, on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box, peels off but heads weakly into Kepa’s arms.
29 min: Liverpool are beginning to ping it around with great confidence now. Mane is nearly sent clear down the middle by Wijnaldum’s chip, but crashes into Azpilicueta. He wants a spot kick, but the ref’s not interested in this one either.
27 min: On Sky, Tyler and Carragher are taking turns to riff on Kepa’s pain. He’s not had a good season, but you can’t blame him for Keita’s strike, which was a successful fusion of art and uber-violence. Here’s Sanchit Sabhlok: “I’m a Manchester United fan and I gotta admit I was extremely pleased with this Liverpool team winning the title! They’re a fun lot to watch and I wish them no harm. And now if they can repay that goodwill back by beating Chelsea, that’d be great thank you very much.”
25 min: That was an absolute pearler, giving Kepa no chance whatsoever. The ball whipped around the back of the net in a very aesthetically pleasing style, too, although Chelsea fans may not have appreciated the effect.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (Keita 23)
Out of nothing ... wow! Keita and Wijnaldum combine to strip Willian of the ball, 30 yards from the Chelsea goal. Keita takes over and strides towards the box, unleashing a rising shot into the top right. That’s a pure belter. Time to celebrate with drinks.
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22 min: It’s one for the purists.
20 min: It’s not quite taken off yet, this match. Here’s Ian Copestake: “Am listening in tribute to the last time we won the equivalent of this title by following on the wireless at my folks’ home on the Wirral. I feel like a kid again.” Hope it makes for more entertaining listening than viewing. Plenty of time for excitement to build yet.
18 min: Keita spins in midfield to leave Azpilicueta in his wake. He makes it to the edge of the box, but can’t decide between shooting and laying off to Mane, and so achieves neither. But what an elegant turn to begin the run.
16 min: James is allowed to advance down the inside-right channel. As he reaches the edge of the box, he attempts to plonk one into the top right. It’s a decent effort, but always sailing a little high and wide, and Alisson had it covered anyway.
14 min: Salah dribbles with purpose down the inside-right channel. He goes for a one-two with Wijnaldum but can’t pick up the return as he runs slap-bang into Rudiger. He wants a penalty but he’s not getting one. The defender was entitled to stand his ground.
12 min: Liverpool respond with some possession football of their own. Other than the Mount chance, very little has happened so far.
10 min: Chelsea are enjoying the lion’s share of possession right now. It’s a confident start by the visitors.
8 min: Chelsea should be leading. Willian gets a yard on Robertson down the right, but checks and pulls back for James, who swings one in. Mount, six yards out, heads over. Giroud would have planted that into the net, surely.
6 min: Tyler, warming to his theme, is now chortling away about the 2014 Demba Ba game. Co-commentator Jamie Carragher falls conspicuously silent, assumed fuming.
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4 min: Chelsea are kicking towards the Kop in this first half. Willian tries to chest down on the edge of the Liverpool box, but can only send the ball rolling harmlessly out for a goal kick. Chelsea come again, through Willian again, the Brazilian (and former Liverpool transfer target) dribbling with purpose down the inside left. Not quite, but it’s a nice positive start by Chelsea, too.
2 min: A high-paced start by Liverpool, who may want to make a statement after their scatty defeat at Arsenal. Firmino and Salah combine 30 yards from goal, the latter then trying to release Mane down the centre. Zouma intercepts.
Chelsea get the ball rolling ... but only after both teams take a knee of solidarity and love. Black lives matter.
Here come the teams! Chelsea, wearing their lovely new 60s-throwback blue shirts, form a guard of honour for the new champions. Liverpool wear their early-80s retro pinstripe at Anfield for the last time. On Sky, Martin Tyler suggests that it’s Liverpool who should be forming a guard of honour for Chelsea, on account of the victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge that secured the Reds the title. He’s just deliberately pushing buttons there, isn’t he. Anyway, no need to rise to it. We’ll be off in a minute, after a quick blast of the best song from Carousel.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson won’t play tonight on account of his knee problem, but he’ll be centre stage for the trophy lift. “The minute you won it, you dream what it’s going to be like when you lift it. It’s going to be very different and unique of course, without the fans, but it’ll still be special. It’s an unbelievable achievement, and I can’t wait to lift the trophy. But I know the lads’ mentality and their main priority tonight is to get the three points.”
Jurgen Klopp is asked whether he’s looking forward to the trophy presentation. “A lot! It looks great. But between now and then there’s a game to play, and that’s why we are here. Obviously Frank liked the last game a lot, there are not plenty of changes! Same system, same line-up, a good team we face tonight.”
Meanwhile Frank Lampard is quizzed on the importance of a good result for Chelsea tonight in the race for the Champions League spots. “We know the situation. We can’t worry what’s going on in Manchester, or what happens at the weekend. We can control ourselves, though it’s going to be a really tough game. We know how good they are, that’s why they’re lifting the trophy. We’ll have to be at our best.”
Kevin McManus would have been on the Kop tonight in normal circumstances ... but he’s riding sublime upon the seraph-wings of ecstasy nonetheless. “As a lifelong Red and Kop season-ticket holder of 40 years, I’m gutted that I can’t celebrate the title win and end of the 30-year wait at the ground. It would have been a memorable night. It’s made even worse for me by the fact that I live within walking distance of Anfield so could easily walk to the ground to celebrate outside, and at least feel close to it even if I couldn’t take up my normal seat on the Kop. But obviously I’m going to heed the words of Klopp and enjoy the game and celebrate from home. It won’t be anything like actually being there, but you know what? We did it and me and all the other fans have had plenty of great nights during the Klopp reign, so let’s just enjoy it and savour a historic moment.”
It’s all over at Old Trafford, where Manchester United and West Ham United have drawn 1-1. A good result for Chelsea, even if United leapfrog them into third place on goal difference. Chelsea can regain their position by simply drawing their game in hand tonight; should they do that, they’ll be assured of Champions League football next season. Leicester will be reasonably happy with all of this too. It’s going to be quite a ride come Sunday.
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The 2019-20 Premier League champions make one change to the team that lost 2-1 at Arsenal last week. Naby Keita takes the place of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who drops to the bench. Adam Lallana is also among the subs, hoping to get one last run-out at Anfield.
Chelsea also make just one change in the wake of their FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester United. Kepa returns in goal, replacing Willy Caballero.
The teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Keita, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Lovren, Milner, Adrian, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Lallana, Shaqiri, Origi, Jones.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Willian, Mount, Giroud.
Subs: Christensen, Abraham, Pedro, Loftus-Cheek, Caballero, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Tomori, Emerson Palmieri.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands).
Preamble
When Liverpool clinched the 1963-64 First Division title by beating Arsenal 5-0 at Anfield, captain Ron Yeats led his men on a lap of honour. He was waving the Football League trophy ... or at least a papier-mâché version of it. You see, depending on whose story you believe, previous champions Everton either offered to courier the real thing across the city for their neighbours’ big day, only to be refused permission by prissy League mandarins, or flatly refused to hand it over, instead sending it back to the League’s HQ in Lytham St Annes, an official and deliberately laborious process which ensured the champions-elect wouldn’t get it in time. Either way, someone, somewhere was magnificently petty in the old-school pompous style, and you simply have to laugh. Life’s too short to get mad about this sort of stuff.
In any case, it’s not as though that was going to quell the celebration. “The Kop devoted its attentions to panegyrics,” wrote our man Eric Todd, “and the handclapping created the impression of millions of dried peas being dropped on a corrugated iron roof. As the players reached the Kop, they slowed down - I swear some of them bowed – a deserved tribute to a section of the local population which, if it did but know it, rode sublime upon the seraph-wings of ecstasy. Ee, ay, alley-oh, Liverpool are the champs.”
It can’t be like that tonight, of course. Liverpool will lift the Premier League trophy for the first time in front of an empty stadium. It’ll be a little strange, and very far from perfect ... but it’s not as though that is going to quell the celebration. Liverpool are deservedly champions of England, the yearning finally over after 30 years of hurt. However surreal the trophy lift may be, the denizens of the Kop will be there again in spirit – and at other locations in the city, across the country and around the world – once again riding sublime upon the seraph-wings of ecstasy.
Oh, and beforehand, Chelsea will be desperate for three points that will give them Champions League football next season. No biggie. It’s on!
Kick off: 8.15pm BST.
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