Reds crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City fail to beat Chelsea as Merseyside club finally end their 30-year wait to lift top-flight title.
LONDON: Thirty years of hurt came to an end for Liverpool
when they were confirmed as Premier League champions on Thursday courtesy of
second-placed Manchester City's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.
The result at Stamford Bridge means Liverpool have an unassailable 23-point lead over City with seven games left.
Liverpool were last champions of England when they won the old First Division title in 1989-90 after which a decline in fortunes saw Manchester United and Arsenal, then Chelsea and Manchester City seize power.
Inspirational manager Juergen Klopp has rekindled the Anfield flame though and delivered the club's 19th top-flight title, one behind arch-rivals United's record of 20, after finishing runners-up to City in a thrilling race last season.
As the Chelsea game moved into stoppage time at an empty stadium in London, 350km away outside Anfield Liverpool fans began lighting red flares as the celebrations began in earnest.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a three-month suspension of the season and delaying Liverpool's coronation, they have won the title with a record seven games to spare.
They eclipsed the record jointly held by Manchester United (2000-01) and Manchester City (2017-18), who sealed their respective titles with five games left.
Liverpool finished last season with nine straight league wins and, after claiming the Champions League by beating Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid, began the new campaign in relentless fashion to leave rivals trailing in their wake.
With 28 wins and just one defeat in 31 games, Liverpool have set a record-breaking pace and were 25 points clear in February -- the biggest lead in Premier League history.
When they beat West Ham United that month it was their 18th successive top-flight win, matching Manchester City's record, before their hopes of an unbeaten season were dashed by a 3-0 defeat at Watford, a result that was merely a blip.
Leading the charge has been Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian forward who is the first Liverpool player to score at least 20 goals in all competitions in three consecutive seasons since Michael Owen at the start of the millennium.
Salah scored twice on Wednesday as Liverpool thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 at Anfield -- a result that meant City had to beat Chelsea to delay the inevitable for a while longer. Agencies
List of English league champions
(with runner-ups; since 1981-82)
1981-82 - Liverpool - Ipswich Town
1982-83 - Liverpool - Watford
1983-84 - Liverpool - Southampton
1984-85 - Everton - Liverpool
1985-86 - Liverpool - Everton
1986-87 - Everton - Liverpool
1987-88 - Liverpool - Manchester United
1988-89 - Arsenal - Liverpool
1989-90 - Liverpool - Aston Villa
1990-91 - Arsenal - Liverpool
1991-92 - Leeds United - Manchester United
1992-93 - Manchester United - Aston Villa
1993-94 - Manchester United - Blackburn Rovers
1994-95 - Blackburn Rovers - Manchester United
1995-96 - Manchester United - Newcastle United
1996-97 - Manchester United - Newcastle United
1997-98 - Arsenal - Manchester United
1998-99 - Manchester United - Arsenal
1999-00 - Manchester United - Arsenal
2000-01 - Manchester United - Arsenal
2001-02 - Arsenal - Liverpool
2002-03 - Manchester United - Arsenal
2003-04 - Arsenal - Chelsea
2004-05 - Chelsea - Arsenal
2005-06 - Chelsea - Manchester United
2006-07 - Manchester United - Chelsea
2007-08 - Manchester United - Chelsea
2008-09 - Manchester United - Liverpool
2009-10 - Chelsea - Manchester United
2010-11 - Manchester United - Chelsea
2011-12 - Manchester City - Manchester United
2012-13 - Manchester United - Manchester City
2013-14 - Manchester City - Liverpool
2014-15 - Chelsea - Manchester City
2015-16 - Leicester City - Arsenal
2016-17 - Chelsea - Tottenham Hotspur
2017-18 - Manchester City - Manchester United
2018-19 - Manchester City - Liverpool
2019-20 - Liverpool - ____
List of trophies won by Liverpool
*LEAGUE TITLES
First Division/Premier League (19): 1900-01, 1905-06, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1946-47, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90, 2019-20
Second Division (4): 1893-94, 1895-96, 1904-05, 1961-62
*DOMESTIC CUPS
FA Cup (7): 1964-65, 1973-74, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1991-92, 2000-01, 2005-06
League Cup (8): 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1994-95, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2011-12
FA Community Shield (15): 1964*, 1965*, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977*, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986*, 1988, 1989, 1990*, 2001, 2006 (*shared)
*EUROPEAN HONOURS
European Cup/Champions League (6): 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1983-84, 2004-05, 2018-19
UEFA Cup/Europa League (3): 1972-73, 1975-76, 2000-01
Super Cup (4): 1977, 2001, 2005, 2019
*WORLDWIDE
FIFA Club World Cup: 2019
Since the League began in 1888-89,
the following clubs have won the title:
20 - Manchester United
19 - Liverpool
13 - Arsenal
9 - Everton
7 - Aston Villa
6 - Chelsea, Sunderland, Manchester City
4 - Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United
3 - Huddersfield Town, Leeds United,
Wolverhampton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers
2 - Portsmouth, Preston North End, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur, Derby County
1 - Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich Town, Leicester City.
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