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On The Ball | Joy and sadness as Liverpool write another triumphant chapter during this most memorable of seasons
- Most Liverpool supporters were forced to witness the club’s once in a generation title win from their own homes, but it was no less special to them
- In the age of the coronavirus pandemic, football became a trifling matter, but the triumph has brought joy to a generation of football fans
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There were tears and texts. Solo beers and emotional phone calls. It was a different kind of wonderful.
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Traditionally, the most memorable nights in Liverpool’s history have been characterised by packed stadiums, hugs, mayhem and songs that raised roofs. In the surreal, echoey atmosphere of locked-down football, the Premier League title winged its way to Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s team became champions in a manner no one could have predicted when the campaign started in August.
They will talk about this season forever on Merseyside. Not just because the team is one of the finest in the club’s history. No, when the story of this Premier League is told it will feature a global pandemic, attempts by puny rivals to make the season null and void and negate Liverpool’s unstoppable brilliance and the empty feeling that comes with behind-closed-doors matches.
It will be a saga of epic challenges. Tales will be told of Jurgen Klopp’s genius, of the mental resilience of his players. The narrative will explain that a fan base desperate to participate in glory was forced to watch from home but still ended up savouring the moment.
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Liverpool’s history is sprinkled with emotive moments, many glorious, some painful. This one ranks with the most significant. On Thursday, June 25, they won the Premier League.
The actual action was underwhelming and did not even feature the champions-elect. Manchester City needed to win at Stamford Bridge to keep at least the notion of a title race alive. All the flaws of Pep Guardiola’s team came to the fore and Chelsea cemented their place in the top four with a 2-1 victory. Who really cared about what happened in west London, though? The champions-in-waiting were together in a hotel on Merseyside, watching on television just like the fans.
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