Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BLISS IS ANFIELD Klopp has turned the ground into a fortress again and the red walls have not been breached in 1,003 days
JURGEN KLOPP walked to the Kop and cupped an ear to the crowd as they sang “Li-ver-pool, Li-ver-pool.”
Moments earlier the Anfield faithful had been singing of winning the league after Mo Salah had sealed a 2-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Klopp’s walk to the Kop at the end of home games has become a tradition since he helped make Anfield a fortress once more.
Towards the end of last season, he would offer fans three punches into the air – each met by a huge roar.
This season he dropped that habit because the TV cameras would home in on him and he felt that intruded on his moment with the Liverpool fans.
Yet there was a time Klopp felt “alone” at Anfield, a time he struggled to turn doubters into believers. Liverpool had just lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace in November 2015 not long after he had taken charge.
The German could not believe that fans had begun to walk out moments after Scott Dann had put Palace in front in the 82nd minute, and he let them know he was unhappy about it.
There was some unease at the club about Klopp rounding on the supporters, aware that recent predecessors would have inflamed the Kop had they tried the same trick.
But Klopp felt the fans had a part to play in laying the foundations to build Anfield into a place to be feared again, a stadium where the Reds would never give up. The fans believed in him and that is why they stayed on to applaud them following a 2-2 draw with West Brom a month later.
Liverpool were mocked for seemingly celebrating a draw with a lesser side as the squad stood hand in hand to bow in front of the Kop.
It felt strange at the time but it was the start of a bond which has helped them turn Anfield into a stadium opponents fear, a stadium that has helped Liverpool to become European champions, world champions, and soon-to-be English champions.
Klopp never feels alone now – Anfield fans wait way beyond the final whistle for the German to strut across the turf and celebrate another positive result with them.
Anfield is an intimidating ground to visit once more, reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s when the Reds ruled English football, from the moment the teams walk out to the booming sound of You’ll Never Walk Alone. Not even a Barcelona side that includes Lionel Messi can come to Anfield with a 3-0 lead and feel safe, as was proven last term in the Champions League.
But while the Anfield factor has helped Liverpool become a force again abroad, it is in the league that the famous old ground has shown its worth.
It is more than 1,000 days since Liverpool tasted a Premier League defeat there, when Crystal Palace beat them 2-1 in April 2017. Two full seasons have passed since Reds fans walked out of Anfield following a defeat.
And the next time they take their seats at the famous ground for the Southampton game on February 1, it will be over 12 months since they last saw them draw a game there.
Liverpool have hardly been bad on the road either considering they are 39 games unbeaten in the league, have one defeat in 61, and have won all but one of their away matches so far this season. But there is no doubting their formidable home form has been a key element in making them runaway leaders – Klopp’s men hold a 16-point advantage over second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.
“We can’t deny that we are in a good situation but we don’t get carried away,” said Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk (left)
Left-back Andy Robertson was also reading from the same script. “Until the ‘Champions’ sign is above our heads we don’t believe anything,” he said.
But, no matter what the players say, it is ‘when,’ not ‘if ’ Liverpool secure the title.
They could even win it against City as early as April 4 if both sides pick up maximum points in all their games before then.
Whenever they secure it, they will have the “Champions” sign above their heads and the trophy in their hands after their final home game against Chelsea.
And you can guarantee no Reds fans will be leaving in the 82nd minute on that day.