Chronicle Editor
Liverpool have finally been crowned Premier League champions but they as good as won the title during a dramatic and remarkable run last autumn.
Late goals, unlikely heroes and refusal to give up guided Jurgen Klopp’s squad through the most difficult moments and led them to the trophy.
In their own words, Andrew Robertson, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana reflect on the biggest days of the campaign that enabled Liverpool to race away from their rivals and charge into the record books.
1. LEICESTER CITY, Anfield – Saturday, October 5 — 2-1 win
James Milner’s injury time penalty lifted the roof off Anfield after a dramatic finale when they had been taken to the wire by Brendan Rodgers’ side.
It felt like a huge moment and proved so as Liverpool ended that weekend six points clear.
GW: We always fight hard to win these games. Nothing was easy, it was always so difficult until the end. It should always be that way (wild celebrations) when you win such an important game.
I didn’t see Milly take the penalty, as I was on the bench. With pressure? He’s very good.
2. MAN UNITED, Old Trafford – Sunday, October 20 — 1-1 draw
Marcus Rashford’s first half goal looked set to condemn Liverpool to their first defeat since January until Klopp introduced a late substitute.
AL: It was my first goal since May 2017. I had scored plenty of goals against my lad in the back garden during that time — but they didn’t feel half as good!
I was delighted to come on and make a contribution like that. It felt like it was going to be the first of many big moments.
3. TOTTENHAM, Anfield – Sunday, October 27 — 2-1 win
Harry Kane scored with the first attack of the game but Liverpool ran all over them, their rewards coming in the second half when Henderson and Mohamed Salah scored.
AR: Tottenham is a perfect example of what we do. They scored in the first minute and we ended up producing one of our best performances of the season.
The goal didn’t affect anything. It didn’t hurt our game plan, we just carried on as normal. We knew we still had 89 minutes to work it out.
When we go behind, we don’t panic. We stay composed, keep to our principles and that is how we win games. We have shown it time and time again. It got us some crucial points and some huge victories to put us in the position we are in.
4. ASTON VILLA, Villa Park – Saturday, November 2 — 2-1 win
Manchester City had come from behind against Southampton, potentially cutting Liverpool’s advantage to three points ahead of a huge fixture at Anfield.
With three minutes left, Klopp’s side were trailing 1-0 when their flying left back charged forward.
AR: My goal? When it went in, my first thought was “let’s get back and let’s go and win it”; everyone seemed to follow suit, running back quickly.
Last season taught us many things but the main one was every point is a prisoner — you have to work so hard to get them.
We believed it left Villa thinking: “Och, they’re going to beat us”; we wanted to work on that. Luckily we got another chance and Sadio (Mane) popped up.
Yes, I’ve watched the goal back . . . but nobody has watched one of their goals more than Curtis Jones watched his against Everton in the FA Cup!
5. MANCHESTER CITY, Anfield – Sunday, November 10 — 3-1 win
The eagerly-awaited head-to-head became one way traffic.
Liverpool were relentless and looked ready to disappear over the horizon with the way they dismantled the reigning champions. Fabinho, Salah and Mane scored the goals.
JH: I’d been ill in the week before but there was no way I was missing the game. The performance, against one of the best teams in the world, was everything we are about.
Other players have told me that when we are like that at Anfield, they feel as if we have two extra men on the pitch.
The pressing that we do, the desire to get the ball back, it must be a horrible time for opponents when we are in that mood and the crowd get behind us.
Nobody got carried away but it was a huge result, something that gave us a fantastic base — and showed them it was a long way back.
6. LEICESTER CITY, King Power Stadium — Thursday, December 26- 4-1 win
There was a big question to answer after Liverpool had only returned from winning the Club World Cup in Qatar four days earlier.
Many expected Leicester to announce themselves as title challengers.
Instead, Liverpool produced their best display of the year and ran out 4-1 winners to go 18 points clear.
AR: There have been so many big games but you look at Leicester away on Boxing Day. We’d flown halfway around the world and I think a few people thought, first match back, the title is going to get blown open here. Leicester will be back in the title hunt, so will Manchester City.
But we produced an unbelievable performance and we looked as fresh as ever. We were trying to become the first champions to win it in March before lockdown. We became the first ones to win the Premier League in June instead.
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