Liverpool win their 20th league title after a 5-1 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur
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Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah taking a wefie with the fans after scoring their fourth goal during their 5-1 English Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on April 27. The result saw them crowned league champions.
PHOTO: AFP
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LIVERPOOL – Liverpool drew level with Manchester United on 20 top-flight titles after a 5-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur saw them win the English Premier League and become the joint-most successful club in English football history.
The Reds had needed just a draw to seal their second Premier League crown in six seasons in Arne Slot’s first season in charge, but they confirmed the triumph in style to prompt an almighty celebration in half of Merseyside with four games to spare.
Slot told Sky Sports: “It was clear we couldn’t lose this game. Everyone on the bus said there’s no way we’re going to lose this game. They always find a way to win.
“Incredibly proud, not only of the players but the people standing here, sport directors, my staff members, we should give them a big round of applause. Let’s forget it’s the second in 35 years, it’s the second in five years.”
The last time they won the title in 2019-20, they were no fans in stadiums due to Covid-19 restrictions, so this time around, the celebrations took on added significance.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk added: “This is the most beautiful club in the world. We deserve this. We are going to enjoy the next couple of weeks and take it in.
“I was desperate to win it for them (the fans) and all the fans around the world, and for us as well.”
The signs seemed clear even before kick-off as Tottenham made eight changes to their starting line-up, the most they have ever done from one league game to another.
Outside Anfield, the Liverpool team bus snaked its way to the stadium to a guard of honour of thousands of fans thronging the streets, with the smoke of red flares billowing in the air.
In the stadium, the atmosphere was especially vociferous and the pre-match rendition of the totemic anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone was particularly poignant.
The Reds matched the crowd and occasion with a fast start.
Not long after Mohamed Salah sent a trademark curling shot over the bar in the ninth minute, Cody Gakpo attempted a spectacular scissor kick from a corner which failed to trouble Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Three minutes later, Spurs took a shock lead when former Reds striker Dominic Solanke met a James Maddison corner to power a header past Alisson Becker in the Liverpool goal.
But that setback did not last long as on 16 minutes, Salah slipped a reverse ball into the box for Dominik Szoboszlai, who sent a low cross for Luis Diaz to slide home.
Liverpool’s Luis Diaz scores the equaliser.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
It is the 30th straight league game in which Slot’s men have found the net, since a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest last September.
That is the second-longest scoring streak in a single campaign, after Arsenal’s 38-game run in 2001-02.
Four minutes after their equaliser, another cut-back from the right was turned in by Gakpo, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
On 24 minutes, Liverpool took the lead for the first time.
Pressure from Ryan Gravenberch on the right saw him nick the ball off Archie Gray, and when the ball found its way to Alexis Mac Allister, he gleefully blasted home from outside the box.
Alexis Mac Allister puts Liverpool ahead, scoring their second goal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Eleven minutes before half-time, Liverpool were 3-1 up. A corner from the right found Gakpo, who took a couple of touches before dispatching the ball past a crowd of bodies and Vicario.
The Reds started the second period as they ended the first. On 49 minutes, neat interplay found Gakpo bearing down on Vicario, but his decision to try to lay the ball off for Salah instead of shooting turned out to be too selfless.
Liverpool continued to create chances, with Ben Davies blocking a shot close to the goal line before Vicario denied Gakpo’s shot from distance on 60 minutes.
It proved a prelude to the inevitable.
From a 63rd-minute counter-attack, Liverpool talisman and Premier League top scorer Salah found the net for the 28th time in the league this term, cutting in from the right and beating Vicario at the near post to make it 4-1.
Mohamed Salah scores Liverpool’s fourth goal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
He proceeded to borrow a phone from a fan and take a wefie with the crowd in a spontaneous act.
In the 69th minute, it was 5-1 when Destiny Udogie prodded into his own goal in an attempt to deny a Salah tap-in.
It was the 15th goal Spurs have conceded against Liverpool over four matches this season, the most they have let in against a single opponent during a campaign.
As the Reds savoured their title win, 16th-placed Spurs will try to pick themselves up for their Europa League semi-final, first leg against Bodo/Glimt on May 1, the last chance to save their wretched season.
