Inside Liverpool’s trophy night – from booze-free champers to Anfield antics
It has been one year since Liverpool finally got their hands on the Premier League title – albeit in front of an empty Anfield.
The Reds romped home to their first title since 1990 in record-breaking fashion, becoming champions with seven matches still to play in the 2019/20 campaign.
They got over the line while out of action themselves, with Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City on June 26 confirming Pep Guardiola's men would not be able to catch them at the top of the table.
And just under four weeks later, the team who finished the job for them arrived at Anfield on the night of their title party.
Of course, the reason Liverpool's title-winning season dragged on into July was because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented supporters from witnessing their coronation first hand.
But it didn't stop the Reds faithful from gathering outside Anfield, swarming the streets with pyrotechnics to welcome their side's bus into the ground before kick-off and staying there throughout the game to celebrate their historic success.
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The game itself lived up to the occasion. Liverpool stormed into a 3-0 lead after 43 minutes, before Olivier Giroud's tap-in on the stroke of half-time gave Chelsea a lifeline.
Roberto Firmino restored the champions' three-goal cushion after the break, only for the Blues to pull another two goals back and leave themselves on the verge of a stunning revival.
That was until Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stung them on the counter-attack to ensure Liverpool's title party went to plan.
After briefly celebrating their success in the changing room, and putting on special 'Champions' t-shirts, it was then over to captain Jordan Henderson to officially end 30 years of hurt for the Merseyside club by lifting the title, passionately holding it aloft as fireworks and confetti turned Anfield into a thick Red mist of glory.
Each player, along with Klopp and his coaching staff, got their hands on the trophy to pose for photos and soak up one of the proudest moments of their careers, before joining arms for a rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone.
Given there were no fans present to savour the moment with, jubilant Reds stars then returned to the dressing room and continued their celebrations there, spraying champagne, singing and dancing the night away.
Nevertheless, Henderson revealed at the back end of last year that the champagne was in fact non-alcoholic, which was a gesture of respect for Muslim stars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
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"The champagne was non-alcoholic with the trophy lift because of Mo and Sadio," Henderson said.
"Within the dressing rooms there's none of that [intolerance] so why isn't that the case in the outside world?"
Footage from Liverpool also captured Klopp's emotional team talk in the dressing room before Henderson lifted the trophy.
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"What you did this year is absolutely top of this planet," he said. "Absolutely outstanding.
"Each of you here, we made history. Champions of the world!"
Get your hands on your club's special edition 2021/22 annual. Find out more here.
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