Following all the drama that had unfolded beforehand in this strangest of seasons for their Premier League title defence, Liverpool’s final step towards securing Champions League football was ultimately achieved with the minimum of fuss.
There were no last day twists or turns for Jurgen Klopp’s side as going into the match in fourth place courtesy of Wednesday night’s 3-0 at Burnley, they efficiently overcame Crystal Palace without drama to triumph 2-0 through a Sadio Mane brace.
Unbeaten in their 10 Premier League fixtures and winning their last five, Liverpool actually ended the campaign as they’d started the previous one, as the top flight’s in-form side and even moved up a place to finish third.
Here’s how the national media reported on proceedings as fans returned to Anfield.
From 'bad champions' to Klopp's 'greatest managerial achievement' as touchline reaction tells story
Chris Bascombe, Daily Telegraph
They say the league table never lies. At the very least, it is occasionally guilty of being economical with the truth.
Future generations will consider the final placings in this most extraordinary of Premier League seasons, see Liverpool in third and consider what all the fuss was about in the Champions League scrap. They must delve deep to uncover the real story.
One only had to see Jurgen Klopp’s reaction when Sadio Mane doubled his side’s lead over Crystal Palace, effectively securing Liverpool’s place, and it was like eight months of pent up emotion poured out of him.
“It seemed impossible,” Klopp said of the pursuit of Champions League football. He had never given up, but for a while he had sounded on the cusp of doing so.
Lest we forget, this was a Liverpool side condemned for being ‘bad champions’ three months ago; a Liverpool side which suffered an unprecedented six consecutive home defeats mid-season, and a side which had gone into lockdown a year ago as the world club champions, but looked like it might re-emerge outside all European competitions.
The reasons for that were plentiful, and it may be seen as much for others’ flaws that Liverpool somehow recovered to assume a more natural position under Klopp’s leadership.
But it says more about the German’s management and character, navigating his club through treacherous terrain despite the loss of at least two of his captains in Jordan Henderson (half the season) and Virgil Van Dijk (virtually all of it).
That’s before we list countless other occasions when Klopp had more than seven first-team regulars in rehab, and a few others - including himself - dealing with personal trauma.
Many will argue if this can truly be considered one of Klopp’s greatest managerial achievements. He has the right to decide that.
There were some emotional goodbyes before the end, Gini Wijnaldum granted a guard of honour while Hodgson received generous applause in a stadium which will never bring him the happiest memories.
A month ago, Liverpool thought they would be waving farewell to Champions League football, too. From what looked like being the rubble of Liverpool’s Premier League defence, Klopp has somehow managed to carve out a gem of a finale.
Minimum of fuss but a monumental effort as salvage operation is completed
Andy Hunter, The Guardian
Liverpool completed their salvage operation with a minimum of fuss but a monumental effort.
A fifth consecutive Premier League win secured a fifth successive ticket to the Champions League for Jurgen Klopp’s team who, despite every obstacle that blocked their path this season, hauled themselves into third place at the last.
No wonder Klopp blew kisses to the Kop when it was all over.
Sadio Mane, epitomising Liverpool’s recovery, ended what he had labelled the worst season of his career with two goals that closed Roy Hodgson’s career with Crystal Palace in defeat.
Klopp sought out the former Liverpool and England manager as soon as the final whistle sounded. After a warm embrace, the Liverpool manager returned to his dug-out with a series of fist-pumps that underlined what this rescue act meant following a punishing campaign on a professional and personal level.
From staring at the unwanted complications of Europa League qualification in March, Liverpool preserved their place among the European elite courtesy of a 10-game unbeaten run that featured eight victories and 26 points from a possible 30.
Last season’s champions signed off in championship-winning form, and in a position that strengthens Klopp’s conviction Liverpool will challenge again next season once their leaders have recovered from injury.
The bleakest of midwinters but Liverpool finish like champions
Ian Ladyman, Daily Mail
Nobody would ever have predicted we would have been here watching Liverpool make such a fuss about finishing third in the Premier League. They were our defending champions after all.
But after all that has befallen them this season, this felt like an achievement of sorts.
It has taken a rare run of form to get them into the Champions League places and they deserve credit for that. This victory made it eight wins and two draws from 10 closing league games, a run that has taken Jurgen Klopp's team from the bleakest of midwinters to a position of relative respectability.
Liverpool began and finished this season like champions. They were top at Christmas, remember. It was the bit in the middle that almost did for them. Thanks to this victory, that can now be looked back on as a curiosity - one of those things that happens in sport - rather than the catastrophe it felt like at the time.
In terms of this particular afternoon, it was lovely to hear and see supporters back inside Anfield. They did their bit. In terms of the football, Klopp and his players will have been glad to have experienced none of the drama taking place elsewhere.
Indeed, only twice were Liverpool in any kind of trouble here. The contest, such as it was, lasted 14 minutes.
That was the time it took Crystal Palace to create and miss their only meaningful chances of the game, one from Wilfried Zaha - placed against goalkeeper Alisson's knees in the second minute - and a one-on-one planted wide of a post by Andros Townsend not long after.
Had either gone in, Liverpool may just have wobbled. They had started the game rather tentatively. But from that point on, Liverpool strolled to victory and won courtesy of a goal in either half from Sadio Mane.
Elements that marked Liverpool as England's best last year bubble to the fore
Melissa Reddy, Independent
They could not be here to drink in the champagne moment, the crowning of their mentality monsters as champions of England. But the fans filled Anfield with intoxication as Liverpool extracted every ounce of fight to overcome adversity and cross the top-four finish line.
After their season of hell, setback after setback on loop, they battled into third following a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
It allowed Gini Wijnaldum to say goodbye in a way that typified his 237 appearances: servant to the team, doing whatever was needed to secure whatever they wanted.
This was Anfield: colour, noise, emotion and appreciation of the effort Jurgen Klopp’s men have put in to rescue a season that seemed completely lost with the silver lining of Champions League football.
There were 10,000 supporters on the terraces to applaud a 10-match unbeaten run on the back of a 1-0 home defeat by Fulham on March 7, which generated 26 points from a possible 30 to reach the promised land.
The route was decorated with the unforgettable, like Alisson’s header at the death against West Bromwich Albion, but it was grit that saw Liverpool home.
That was no different on Roy Hodgson’s last game as Palace manager, the former Reds boss given a warm send-off despite the lingering resentment over his ambition-less tenure here.
At the end of their storm, however, Liverpool could revel in a Champions League-tinted sky.
Ultimately, the elements that marked them out as England’s best last time out - resilience, steel, a dedication to the dirty work - bubbled to the fore to guide them home.
