Published 19:44 IST, June 26th 2020
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool script glory out of fractured fairytale as Inevitables stand tall
Liverpool's tale has been 30 years in the making. Jurgen Klopp and his relentless Reds made history as they were finally crowned champions of England.
Truly a season like no other. After the most heroic of failures, reluctantly becoming the greatest runners-up in the history of English football, Liverpool have ended their 30-year wait to be crowned champions of England. Drama, intrigue and, ultimately, agony last time around, gave way to sheer dominance, grit, determination and flamboyance this time as a painful 30-year wait ended in the most unforeseen circumstances. Asterisk or not, Jurgen Klopp’s ‘Inevitables’ are champions of England.
Liverpool Premier League champions: Jurgen Klopp’s Inevitables’ relentless dominance this season
Ferocity has been the highlight of Liverpool’s glorious campaign. The Reds won their first eight games, drew the ninth at Old Trafford, and marched on to win the next 18, equalling Man City’s all-time top-flight record of 18 successive league wins. In the process, Liverpool went 44 league games unbeaten – the second-longest unbeaten run in the history of English football.
Over the years, Premier League’s history-makers have often adopted monikers, titles that underlined their historic feats – Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’, Pep Guardiola’s ‘Centurions’. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds were coined ‘The Inevitables’; a matter of when, not if. And so it was.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool wrapped up the title with seven games to spare, the quickest a team has ever been crowned champions in England’s top flight. That the title win came in June was another testament to a season to remember. June is the latest a team has wrapped up the league title. There was talk of an asterisk being put to Liverpool’s name, considering the events that have unfolded. In an interview after the restart, Jurgen Klopp welcomed the asterisk. “Give us an asterisk, yes. It is the most difficult season ever.”
Liverpool Premier League champions: From doubters to believers, Jurgen Klopp’s heavy-metal football leads Reds to glory
Even with a record haul in their sights, it has been far from smooth sailing for Liverpool this season. Alisson was out injured for the considerable part of the first half of the season, while Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all picked up injuries that kept them out of the side. Yet, in the face of adversity and a hectic schedule, Klopp’s relentless Reds picked up win after win. A 1-0 win at Bramall Lane against a well-drilled Sheffield United, a nervy 2-1 win at Villa Park, and similar victories against Chelsea and Leicester early on meant Liverpool had to dig deep and claw out wins.
Then came the flamboyant, heavy-metal wins against Everton (5-2) and Leicester (4-0) in December as Liverpool stamped their authority in England. Though Liverpool were suffocating their opponents on the pitch, the Kop refrained from title talk. Could this be their year at last? Could it? Whispers of optimism remained just that. The Kop’s cautioned optimism was understandable, given the agony of near-miss campaigns. Even racking up a club-record 97 points was not enough to clinch the title last season. To come back from a historic campaign and mount another challenge would take something else; something akin to ‘mentality monsters’.
Liverpool Premier League champions: Jurgen Klopp’s Reds enter promised land, as quest for football’s Holy Grail comes to a close
A slew of records broken and a litany of others in their sights, Jurgen Klopp’s Inevitables were cocooned from the rapture surrounding their record-shattering season, until Man United came to Anfield. That 2-0 win against their eternal rivals who had knocked them off their perch served as clincher for the Kop, who began to sing, “And now you’re gonna believe us”. While Pep Guardiola was handed the crown jewels to add to his Centurions squad over and over, Jurgen Klopp put his trust in the pyrotechnics of his devastating front three. With Mo Salah and Sadio Mane challenging for the Golden Boot once again and Roberto Firmino adding to his bag of tricks and flicks, Liverpool marched on.
With no major summer signings and the same squad that fell agonisingly short last season, Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to the promised land. In a way, it was his destiny. The fist-pumping German led his previous club to their first Champions League final in 16 years. What Klopp has done at Liverpool transcends that monumental achievement; leading a club with a fractured fairytale of a legacy to Champions League glory and a Premier League title in the space of just over a year. Jurgen Klopp is now the first German manager to have won the Premier League, and Liverpool have been crowned champions of England in eight different decades, more than any other club.
A summer without major signings, injuries to key personnel, the mental anguish of missing out on the title last season despite a club-record points tally, and a raging pandemic – all stood in the way of Liverpool’s title charge. As of June 26, however, the Reds have overcome these difficulties with aplomb. What was a club, whose history stood at risk of turning into a relic, now stands at the pinnacle of football. Jurgen Klopp’s Inevitables are champions. While the triumph may not have come in front of the packed colosseum that is Anfield, the question Jurgen Klopp is asking the world is – Are you not entertained?
Image Courtesy: LiverpoolFC.com, Liverpool Instagram
Updated 19:57 IST, June 26th 2020