THE 6 GAMES THAT WON THE TITLE — IN THEIR OWN WORDS
LIVERPOOL are finally confirmed as Premier League champions, but they as good as won the title during a remarkable run last autumn. Late goals, unlikely heroes and a refusal to give up guided Jurgen Klopp’s squad through the most difficult moments and led them to the trophy. Here Andrew Robertson, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana reflect on the biggest days of the campaign…
1 LIVERPOOL 2 LEICESTER 1
Anfield — Saturday, Oct 5
James Milner’s stoppage-time penalty lifted the roof after 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.
GINI WIJNALDUM:
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 UTD 1 LIVERPOOL 1
Old Trafford — Sunday, Oct 20.
Marcus Rashford’s first-half goal looked set to condemn Liverpool to their first defeat since January until Klopp introduced a late substitute.
ADAM LALLANA:
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.
3 LIVERPOOL 2 TOTTENHAM 1
Anfield — Sunday, Oct 27
Harry Kane scored with the first attack of the game but Liverpool ran all over Spurs, their rewards coming in the second half when Henderson and Mohamed Salah scored.
ANDREW ROBERTSON:
SPURS is a perfect example of what we do. They scored in the first minute and we ended up producing one of our best performances. The goal didn’t affect anything. We knew we still had 89 minutes. 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.
4 ASTON VILLA 1 LIVERPOOL 2
Villa Park — Saturday, Nov 2.
Manchester City had come from behind against Southampton, potentially cutting Liverpool’s advantage to three points ahead of a huge fixture at Anfield. Three minutes to go, they were trailing 1-0 when their left back charged forward.
ANDREW ROBERTSON:
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. 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!
5 LIVERPOOL 3 MAN CITY 1
Anfield — Sunday, Nov 10
The eagerly-awaited head-to-head was one-way traffic. Liverpool dismantled the champions — Fabinho, Salah and Mane scoring.
JORDAN HENDERSON:
I’D BEEN ill in the week before but there was no way I was missing the game. This 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. Nobody got carried away but it was a huge result.
6 LEICESTER 0 LIVERPOOL 4
King Power Stadium, Boxing Day
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 to go 18 points clear.
ANDREW ROBERTSON:
THERE have been so many big games, but we’d flown halfway around the world and a few people thought, ‘The title is going to get blown open here. Leicester will be back in the title hunt, so will City’. But we produced an unbelievable performance. We were trying to become the first champions to win it in March. We became the first ones to win the title in June instead.