By Raoul Zayas, reporting from the UK
LIVERPOOL, England- Back in 1990, Liverpool Football Club secured its 18th English First Division title. No one could've guessed it would take another 30 years until LFC were once again crowned champions of England's highest football division. In those thirty years, a lot has happened.
First of all, the English First Division became the Premier League, sometimes referred to as the English Premier League (EPL) in 1992. The amount of teams in the division as well as number of matches played changed at this time. When you hear someone say this is LFC's first EPL championship, while they are technically correct, it is very misleading. LFC began as a club in 1892. In those 128 years, they have become England's winningest side with 46 total trophies. This first EPL title is actually their 19th title in England's top flight. In the thirty years between these titles, LFC has won several domestic and European titles, including last year's Champions League (their 6th), Europe's biggest football trophy.
Last season was painful. LFC lost the 2018/19 EPL title to Manchester City by 1 point. As the season wore on, most thought the LFC draught was finally going to be over at 29 years yet it was not to be. Even in the pain of getting so close, it was apparent something good was coming. The signs were all there. German manager Jurgen Klopp had assembled a Liverpool squad that was playing at an amazing level. The Reds lost only 1 match last year, winning 30 and drawing 7. Their 97 point total would have won during any other EPL campaign. The sting was subsided a bit by winning Europe's Champions League title. Then came 2019.
From the beginning of this season, LFC had their foot down on the gas. At the time of the pandemic induced break from play, they had a record of 27 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Their lead on second place Manchester City was a staggering 25 points. Klopp's men were making sure this season would not end with a one point heartache. Then the pandemic hit and added to the stress and horror the world was going through the question at the back of every Liverpool fan's mind was, "what now?". There was talk of declaring the entire season null and void, scrapping it as if it never happened and beginning anew once the virus was controlled. Sheer panic set in. How could you negate a 25 point lead with only 9 matches to go?
Realistically, that was never going to happen. There was too much money to be lost if the season was not completed. The amount of money the EPL would have had to pay back to television advertisers was through the roof. Panic turned to patience. In mid June, closed door matches without spectators finally began.
Needing to capture only 6 more points either through wins or Manchester City draws or losses, LFC finally secured their first EPL title, 19th overall championship as England's best, within the first week of resuming the season. LFC's emphatic 4-0 win over Crystal Palace coupled with City's loss to Chelsea brought elation to the streets of Liverpool. Thirty years of frustration popped away with each opened bottle of champagne. In winning this year's EPL title, LFC broke 2 records; earliest and yet latest championship. No club has ever secured the title with 7 matches still remaining in the season, and no club has ever won the title in June (due to the 3 month ban on playing matches during the pandemic). In the final 7 matches to be played, the Reds can break more records (most points in a season, largest gap between second place finisher, most home wins in a season, most away wins in a season) but those records if achieved will be icing on the cake. The wait is over. After 30 years, Liverpool Football Club are champions once again!
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