Time to paint Liverpool red, twice

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2025 (493 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time Liverpool won the Premier League, they became champions of England while gathered together at Formby Hall resort about 22 kilometres outside the city proper.

Adhering to pandemic protocols, agreed in consultation with U.K. health authorities, only the players and coaching staff made the trip. That evening in June 2020, inside the resort lounge, they watched as Chelsea beat Manchester City — a result that sealed the club’s first title in 30 years.

A month later, they lifted the trophy on the Kop inside an empty stadium. In the street, revellers shot red fireworks over Anfield. There was no parade. The party ended there.

This time things will be different. And, yes, there will be a “this time,” as Liverpool need only a point to guarantee a first-place finish. Had Crystal Palace beaten Arsenal on Wednesday, Liverpool would have won it, once again, while watching TV. But a 2-2 draw ensured the Reds will have a chance to be crowned in front of their fans this weekend.

If the title is merely a matter of time, the stopwatch is now at 90 minutes. Tottenham Hotspur, languishing in 16th spot, are not about to pull an upset when they visit Anfield on Sunday (10:30 a.m., FuboTV). This will be a coronation match — and a much overdue in-person celebration. Those 30 years, now 35, are still suppressed on Merseyside.

On a purely footballing level, the 2020 title and this imminent one have certain similarities.

Liverpool has been atop the table since November, and they’re about to win the league with four matches to spare. They did it with seven games left in 2019-20, and even more impressively were first in the standings from the third week of August. Little did they know at the time they’d not get their hands on the trophy until the following July.

Some of the players — key ones — are the same, too. Defender Virgil van Dijk, for example, and goalkeeper Alisson. Ditto Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Harvey Elliott and, crucially, Mohamed Salah. The Egypt forward scored 19 Premier League goals the last time around. He already has 27 this season. So much for aging.

The obvious difference, of course, is that five years ago Liverpool had to fight off their on-field opponents as well as COVID-19. One required talent; the other, the combined efforts of medical staff, club decision-makers and players who needed to buy into public health measures. Far from an “asterisk season,” it was more formidable, more taxing and required more club-wide contribution than any campaign in the post-war era.

It may not have been attended, but it’ll never be forgotten.

Yet, there was also something missing; something absent since 1990; something that only now will make the 2020 title whole, even as the city marks the next one.

People.

What football, like all spectator sports, learned back then was that, without supporters, it was a quiet, hollow thing. Without people to complete the spectacle, there was hardly a spectacle at all. Everything was disconnected, and everybody felt it.

They’ll feel something different on Sunday. A single Liverpool title would always deliver an outpouring of joy, but that joy is about to be doubled. The 2020 winners were never properly exalted. They will be now, as will the current team that has looked like champions for the better part of six months. And what a team.

Jurgen Klopp, the idolized manager who delivered the previous title as well as the Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup, has since resigned, although the club’s inspired choice of replacement, Arne Slot, has more than picked up where his predecessor left off.

Masterfully, the ex-Feyenoord boss has made an elite midfield trio out of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.

And while the frontline has been chopped and changed with regularity, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo have at least 15 goals apiece.

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Throughout the squad, seven players have scored at least four Premier League goals this term. Slot’s Liverpool are the very definition of balance.

Worthy champions, no question. Though they’ll have to share the stage this weekend.

There are two titles to celebrate — two teams, five years, 35 years and enough pent up exuberance to paint the town red. Twice.

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