Freed From Desire — Liverpool are Champions of England
Liverpool 5 Tottenham 1, 27th April 2025
LIVERPOOL 5 (Díaz 16, Mac Allister 24, Gakpo 34, Salah 63, Udogie (OG 69)
TOTTENHAM 1 (Solanke 12)
Amid the outpouring of joy and the songs of triumph rolling around the fields of Anfield Road and both inside and outside of Liverpool’s storied Coliseum bathed in late April sunshine, I was OK until I saw Alisson Becker crying and then there was the joint rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in front of The Kop and like many Reds of a certain vintage I was gone, lost in a tear filled reverie that only winning the league title can induce. Memories flood the mind as easily as the tears rolling gently down the cheeks of a stubbornly difficult to understand man at times like these: Bob Paisley modestly holding the league championship trophy aloft to The Kop, Graeme Souness running screaming towards that very same famous terrace before tossing the trophy high in the sky for Ronnie Whelan to gleefully catch it behind him, Alan Hansen repeating the modest trick of Sir Bob before him or 5 years ago, Jordan Henderson and his pleasing habit of trophy dances before lifting the biggest prizes the game had to offer him and the club he captained with such distinction, high to a firework filled sky. But it was an “asterisk season” they said (and many mean spirited souls still do) and because of COVID the season should be annulled, stricken from the record despite the Mighty Reds losing only 3 league games all season, the championship wrapped up with well over a month to spare and eventually strolling to the title by a gargantuan 18 points. It was eerie and strangely surreal to celebrate such a dominant triumph at an empty Anfield, but 18 league titles had finally become 19 and Manchester United’s record setting tally of 20 was truly in sight after a generation of waiting.
So I was OK until Ali started crying in the arms of his captain Virgil van Dijk and then the joint “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, players and fans conjoined in unbridled delight and freed from the desire so beautifully and vividly brought to life within these fields of Anfield Road entirely dressed in Liverpool Red. Players were individually serenaded by The Kop. Mo Salah took yet more selfies. Kostas Tsimikas danced with a cardboard version of the Premier league trophy and then Arne Slot returned the compliment of singing his song in deference to the man who bequeathed him such a team of winners before sealing his place in the heart of every Red fan the world over as he proudly announced “Let’s forget that this was the 2nd league title in 35 years. This is the 2nd in 5 years!”.
That’s my Liverpool manager right there. So long during his very short and instantly glorious reign quietly self-effacing, confident in his own skin, methodical and proven a winner, now reminding the watching world that his predecessor won the Premier League before him and that his triumph 5 years later isn’t a second success in a largely media driven narrative of 2 titles since 1990 but 2 titles in just 5 seasons and I for one would have roared my approval had he continued the quote above by stating, with his trademark smile, that he’s only been in the job for 10 months! Instead, and post match, Arne Slot admitted to being in this position just a few short years ago would have been a dream, a dream he’s now realised with the trust placed in him by Fenway Sports Group and John Henry in particular and “that tells you also what a special club this is that they don’t always go for maybe the most simple or obvious choice — they make the choice that they think is best for the club”. This best man for the job as manager of Liverpool Football Club has shown a very different side to his character during the run-in for the title: Far more demonstrative on the touchline during games and more fist pumps toward The Kop or the away travelling support after yet another vital win. Today we saw yet more sides to Arne Slot’s character as he returned the compliment of his predecessor by singing his/their joint song on the pitch before dancing exuberantly in front of The Kop. That’s my Liverpool manager right there. Arne Slot had the unenviable task of following a club legend and he’s worked a miracle in 10 months and led Liverpool back to the promised land of being champions of England.
All rather faintly ridiculous.
On the pitch, skipper Virgil van Dijk bubbled with pride at his team of “truly deserved champions” for “the most beautiful club in the world” as fellow veteran and teammate for at least the next two seasons Mo Salah celebrated overtaking Sergio Agüero as the Premier League’s 5th all time top goal scorer (and when not taking selfies with fans on The Kop) couldn’t hide a beaming smile as he enthused “It’s an incredible feeling to win the Premier League here with Liverpool and the fans” and “You have a different group now and a different manager. To show you’re able to do it again is something special”. Alexis Mac Allister, scorer of yet another “Goal of the Season” contender today admitted with pride “To win a World Cup and now a Premier League is something really special” as local lad Curtis Jones admitted to being “speechless” and “taking it all in” and you couldn’t wipe the smile from double Premier League winner Andy Robertson if you tried as he beamed “you can’t beat what we experienced today and how we went to the ground and the fans during and after the game”. I could go on but perhaps I should leave the final words (for now) from the man whose tears started my own, Alisson Becker, who although lamented they couldn’t couldn’t lift the trophy today (patience Ali!) “Oh my God, it’s difficult to put it in words. But it means a lot. It’s a mix of feelings. I was really emotional, to be honest with you, so many things go through your mind. But winning today the way we did, in front of the supporters, with the game — an amazing game that we played — this is fantastic.
“Live is Life” apparently, and according to the 1980’s song by Opus long since appropriated by The Kop for first Jürgen Klopp and then, along with his team full of winners, bequeathed to his predecessor Arne Slot. Life is pretty damn good at the moment should you have been born into the Red faith on the Red side of the city of Liverpool or like me, born many miles away from the eternal city and guided in their direction by a football mad member of the family. For which I have to give thanks to my dear old Mum who although she passionately favoured a team of “Red Devils” from Manchester I know she would have shone like the sun yesterday in praise of the Champions of England.
Champions of England for the 20th time eh? What a lovely sentence that is to write after all these months! 15 points clear of Arsenal. 21 points distant of Manchester City and 43 points (and a million miles) ahead of Manchester United. Only 2 Premier League defeats all season. +48 Goal Difference.
Romped to the title with 4 games and a month of football to spare.
Yesterday happened, yet it will take some time for it to truly sink in.
Let’s hear from the mastermind behind it all, Arne Slot.
Arne’s Afterword
“The only moment I was emotional today was when we arrived at the stadium — to see what it meant for the fans, what it meant for these people. For us to have a chance of winning it felt really special but immediately it also felt like, ‘We still have to do it.’ But I think everybody who was inside that bus felt that if the fans are with us, like they are, then it’s impossible for us to lose this game of football. During the game, after the game, it’s been incredible how the support of the fans were and how our players played. Special to be part of this day”.
“It’s special to have them with me because my family, all the families of the players, have to make sacrifices if you do this job — not only this season, throughout your whole career. Me, like you, everyone, works really hard but we’re not always home. Of course for me, my family was still in Holland, so in moments it was hard for me but definitely for them as well. And then now to win it, I think everybody feels that the few sacrifices we’ve made were definitely worth it. And then it’s special that they can experience this moment as well”.
Thanks for reading. I pen my thoughts on every Liverpool game and in recent seasons, with the addition of numerous pieces of retro writing on Reds games of the past, I’ve curated and created the following two self-published books:
"A final word from The Boss" - link to Amazon
"Chasing the Impossible and a Sword of Damocles" - link to Amazon
Whilst you’re here I may as well brag about the release of my trilogy of recently self-published books too. Beautiful covers eh! As the title(s) would suggest, this is my life at the movies or at least from 1980 to 2024, and in volume 1 you’ll find 80 spoiler free appraisals of movies from debut filmmakers, 91 of the very best films appraised with love and absent of spoilers from 1990–2024 in volume 2, and in volume 3 you’ll find career “specials” on Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino together with the very best of the rest and another 87 spoiler free film reviews from 2001–2024.
All available in hardback and paperback and here are some handy links:
"A Life at the Movies Vol.1" - link to Amazon
"A Life at the Movies Vol.2" - link to Amazon
"A Life at the Movies Vol.3" - link to Amazon
As a man united fan, congratulations on reaching us (league titles).
I'm curious, in this league-clinching match, how big was McAllister's goal from a Liverpool point of view. I'm thinking five ten years down the line. Will this be one of the moments that fans recall when this story is told? I see it clinched the match and therefore the PL league title.