Liverpool's Premier League Dominance
The drought has finally come to an end, Liverpool are Champions of England.
It did not end in the fashion any player or coaching staff would have wanted, behind closed doors, away from their beloved fans.
The title being decided by another game as well, with Liverpool players watching on from a hotel room, is far from ideal.
If Manchester City hadn’t fallen short against Chelsea on Thursday, then Liverpool could have taken the Premier League trophy off holders Man City at the Etihad next Thursday evening.
To have been crowned Premier League Champions against the side that under Pep Guardiola have won the last two titles in majestic style, would have been something special. However, their time to celebrate together like the family they are, will come.
There will eventually be a bus parade with the trophy in the hands of captain Jordan Henderson, and there will be countless unforgettable memories for all fans to reflect on later down the road.
The important thing for Liverpool FC is that they have won the one trophy that has eluded them for so long.
I always thought that if Liverpool ever did win the league it would go down to the wire, I couldn’t imagine it ever being so comfortable considering some of their previous failings at the last hurdle.
It was in the end a far cry from that, it was comfortable and under Klopp Liverpool have become formidable.
Jurgen Klopp has paved the way for how the modern game could look, and the Liverpool hierarchy have proven that giving time to a manager who you have faith in is worth the risk.
During his time at the club which is now almost four years long, Klopp has been given the licence to patiently build a title winning team.
The surprise to many was that he took the club to European glory before winning anything else, as that is often the one trophy that even great managers miss out on.
Although, to anyone close to Liverpool this was no surprise at all.
Klopp had started to build a winning mentality at the club and a togetherness so strong that his players were willing to push themselves to the limit to win.
That came into real fruition in the 2017/18 season when Liverpool stunned Europe by making the Champions League Final in Kiev against Real Madrid.
It was the season in which the deadly front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah was completed, the dynamic trio have become essential to Klopp’s winning formula.
Via xscores.com/Getty Images
They scored 91 goals between them in all competitions in the 2017/18 season and new signing Salah won the golden boot with a record-breaking 32 Premier League goals.
The 2018 Champions League final will always be remembered for two things, a bicycle-kick by Gareth Bale that flew wonderfully into the top corner and the worst goalkeeping performance in a Champions League final to date.
Karius made two blunders which cost Liverpool any slim chance of victory against a Real Madrid side looking to be the first team to win three Champions League titles in a row.
Karius’ confidence was so shook from that devastating night, he looked a fragile figure in pre-season and mistakes continued to haunt him.
Klopp was reluctant to move on a player he liked so much and coached when he was the manager at Mainz.
Although, Karius was the one obvious weakness and to win the Premier League or Champions League, having a weakness that can be exploited, simply isn’t viable.
Klopp had to be ruthless and he was, Karius was loaned out to Besiktas and Allison Becker was signed for £67m from Roma, a record fee for a goalkeeper at the time.
It proved to be the final piece in the puzzle that Klopp had been assembling since he joined the club in 2015.
They went on to win the Champions League that season to put any disappointment from Kiev firmly in the past.
It was an astonishing night at Anfield against Barcelona in the second leg of the semi-final that was so pivotal to lifting the trophy at the Metropolitano weeks later.
They overcame a 3-0 deficit to complete an unlikely comeback, beating Barcelona 4-0 in front of an electric Anfield crowd.
The final against Premier League rivals Spurs was a forgettable game but what it meant to Klopp after his previous cup final defats and to the Liverpool fans, will live long in the memory.
The Premier League was still the trophy Liverpool wanted and the one fans of the club desired more than anything else.
They fell just short last season, despite finishing on 97 points and winning their last 9 league games, as Manchester City retained the Premier League title after another dominant season.
The gap had been closed though and Liverpool were hot on their heels, confident that any slip up from Manchester City would be punished.
That turned out to be the story of this season, Manchester City fell short of their previously exceptionally high standards.
Whilst Liverpool took their standard to a new level, going unbeaten for the first 26 games of this campaign, dropping just two points all season until their 3-0 loss to Watford.
Despite drawing 0-0 with Everton in the first game back after the restart, they looked back to their ruthless best against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, a 4-0 thrashing which put them within touching distance of the title.
It was Chelsea’s victory over closest rivals Manchester City which ended up sealing the deal and Liverpool were Premier League Champions for the first time.
However, since Liverpool beat City 2-1 to go 8 points clear in November, it has only been a matter of when rather than if, as it became evident Liverpool were in a league of their own.
The expectation from the club is that this is still early on in the journey and that under Klopp’s genius management, a period of dominance domestically and in Europe is on the horizon.
Via Liverpool FC Twitter