Liverpool became England’s champion for the first time in thirty years without playing on its own. The team of Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum took advantage of the 2-1 defeat of outgoing champion Manchester City on a visit to Chelsea.
Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 4-0 on Wednesday and knew that a day later the loss of lone remaining competitor Manchester City would be enough to secure the championship. The leader has an insurmountable 23-point lead over number two with seven games to go.
City, without the injured striker Sergio Agüero, came on Thursday evening on an empty and called Stamford Bridge in the 36th minute. Christian Pulisic took advantage of a counter-attacking defense of the visitors and slipped the ball into the far corner: 1-0.
A great goal from Kevin De Bruyne brought Manchester City back into the game at the beginning of the second half. The Belgian curled a free kick very nicely in the crossing. Shortly thereafter it was almost 1-2, but Raheem Sterling hit the post.
Then Chelsea took over the initiative again. Pulisic seemed to score his second goal, but his shot was slipped off the line by Kyle Walker. Moments later, Fernandinho also cleared a bet from Tammy Abraham away from the goal line, but he did it with his hand. The City captain received a red card and Willian used the penalty (2-1), making the title of Liverpool sure.
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Manchester City captain Fernandinho causes a penalty, from which Chelsea makes the winning goal. (Photo: Pro Shots)
Liverpool reigns supreme all season
Liverpool was England’s top club in the 1970s and 1980s, with eleven titles in eighteen years. After the eighteenth championship in 1990, fans of ‘The Reds’ had to wait a long time for a new title.
Since the Premier League was founded in 1992, Liverpool finished second four times. In 2014, the club seemed on its way to the championship, but after an infamous glide from icon Steven Gerrard in a duel with Chelsea, Manchester City became champion with two points ahead of Liverpool. Last year, the six-time winner of the European Cup I / Champions League achieved no less than 97 points in the competition, but City was again just a bit better with 98 points.
This season, it was clear from the start that Liverpool have England’s best squad. Manager Jürgen Klopp’s team started the Premier League with 26 wins and one draw and were already a block ahead of the competition when it suffered its only loss (3-0) on 29 February against Watford.
The corona crisis made it exciting for the fans of Liverpool, but more than a week after the restart of the Premier League, ‘The Reds’ can already call themselves champions. Due to the strict rules, the club will not be able to celebrate the title with its supporters for the time being.
View the results, the program and the state of the Premier League
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