Liverpool was so close but also so far away.
With 15 minutes left and Manchester City down 2-0 to Aston Villa at home, Liverpool knew that a win over Wolves would give them their 20th league title, barring a miracle at the Etihad Stadium.
At Anfield, the score was 3–1. Unfortunately for the Reds, that miracle in Manchester happened simultaneously.
So the historical quest for a quadruple and the hope of a domestic treble are finally over. However, it’s important to remember that Liverpool never actually held the top spot during Sunday’s exciting end to the Premier League season.
Liverpool failed the Premier League title to Manchester City by one point for the second period in three seasons. Goals from Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson, and Mohamed Salah ensured that Liverpool kept their end of the deal and pushed their rival to the wire once again.
Even though City was a big favorite to beat Villa at home, the mood at Anfield was more one of hope than expectation. That was worse when Wolves’ Pedro Neto gave them a surprise lead in the first two minutes.
Mane’s equalizer pumped up the crowd in the middle of the first half. When news spread that Villa had taken an unexpected lead at the Etihad, the noise level went through the roof as the home crowd sensed a magical end to the domestic season.
Liverpool’s first league title in 30 years came during the pandemic two years ago, when the stadium was mostly empty. Getting their 20th league title in a packed stadium would have made the achievement ten times sweeter.
“There were some nerves today, but I thought we did well in the end,” Jordan Henderson, the captain of Liverpool.
“We didn’t give up and finally found a way to win. Also could hear the crowd cheering and other things, but we didn’t know how they were doing. We just tried to keep our minds on what we had to do.”
“We’ve done everything we could”
The title-winning goal by lkay Gündoan for City put an end to the loud celebrations at Anfield, but when the dust drops, Liverpool will look back on a great season that could still get better.
The City’s comeback means that they will be the only English team to have won the domestic treble. However, if the Reds beat Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28, they will also finish the season with a treble.
If Liverpool won in Paris, it would add European glory to the FA Cup, and Carabao Cup wins they already have this year. That would be the best way for Jürgen Klopp’s team to end the season.
Even though the end was painful, everyone was happy when goalkeeper Alisson won the league’s golden glove award. He and City’s Ederson were tied for the cleanest sheets.
Salah won two more awards: the award for most assists and the golden boot, which he shared with Spurs’ Son Heung-Min for scoring 23 goals.
“The boys have done everything they could, so you can’t have too many problems,” Henderson said next.
“We gave everything we had all season, right up to the last day, and in January, we would have ground your hand off if you had told us to go to the end.”
We’re a little bit sad today. We have to congratulate City, but we have to think about the game next week.”
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