CHAMPIONS.

Liverpool make all of their dreams come true with a special performance to crown a special season.

How was it for you?

When the moment came - the confirmation of that which we all knew months ago, but even whilst on the precipice some were scared to admit - I hope it gave you everything you thought it would. Everything you had dreamed of through the years in the wilderness, followed by multiple near misses, and then a title during COVID where the team was perfect but the world was anything but. This was it. The day was finally here. Liverpool are Premier League Champions.

The team that has been top of the table since November 2nd confirmed that they would remain there until the season's end. A sparkling performance worthy of a coronation put a poor Spurs side to the sword, scoring five fantastic goals to take their total in this fixture to 15 goals in four contests this season.

All three of the starting forwards - Luis Diaz , Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah - found the net along with Alexis Mac Allister before Destiny Udogie put through his own net. Destiny was on Liverpool’s side in more ways than one, as it has been throughout the season as test after test was passed with flying colours.

A new manager in his first season in a big league, following a legendary figure? Cool. A summer transfer window of stasis and disappointment? No worries. Three of your most important players out of contract at the end of the season? Bring it on. The best goalkeeper in the world out injured for months? Whatever man.

Liverpool had one more hurdle to conquer, as Spurs took the lead and threatened to crank up the nerves. Their resistance was fleeting, and by the end was barely a footnote in the pages of history.

The city was alive from the moment the sun rose. Wherever you looked there were red shirts, beaming smiles and fists clenched in celebration. Clothing choices to watch a football match had garnered much more debate than it deserved, but when Virgil Van Dijk says he wants you in red, you come in red. The fans responded emphatically to their captain, and the passionate red army moving en masse to greet the bus was a sight to behold.

“It's like a Champions League final”, remarked one fan walking past.

Just like those occasions that this team are so comfortable with, the chance to secure one of the sport's greatest prizes by the final whistle raised the temperature a few hundred degrees. Facing Spurs brought back memories of the carnival in Madrid in 2019, and like that day, the men from North London knew they were the supporting cast.

Ange Postecoglu was thinking of a more recent European engagement when picking his team. Their Europa League semi final on Thursday was clearly the priority when resting his first choice centre backs, and their most potent creative threat in Dejan Kulusevski. Slot changed both full backs, as the classic combo of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold returned. For all of the reasons that both men have heard calls to keep them out of the side, when looking back on this season in years to come, this will be the starting eleven of the title winners in 2024/25.

The first chance to get the crowd off of their seats arrived at the first set piece. Mac Allister’s corner was cleared out to Gakpo who took two touches to set himself before hooking it over his own shoulder but curling beyond the far post.

Spurs’ first corner came less than a minute later, and they were more successful. It was a set piece needlessly given away by Ibrahima Konate, and the sloppiness continued as former Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke fought through a pair of lacklustre challenges from Diaz and Ryan Gravenberch to plant a header beyond Alisson. This was not in the script.

The crowd roared in defiance, unwilling to let anyone stop the party. The players took their cue, and were soon level. Four minutes later, Mohamed Salah slid a ball down the side of the Spurs defence into the path of Dominik Szoboszlai. Diaz won the race to meet his pass along the six-yard box, and found an unguarded net, in a carbon copy of his opener against West Ham. There was almost an instant replay for Gakpo, but this time Gravenberch was offside before delivering the killer pass.

Liverpool tails were up, shaken into life by conceding, and soon they were in front. A slick one-two between Salah and Gravenberch appeared to have gone wrong, but the Dutch tyro fought off Archie Gray, to allow the ball to roll into the path of Mac Allister. The mini midfield maestro took one touch and fired a rocket into the top corner for his fifth league goal of the season.

Cue bedlam.

It was a strike reminiscent of Paul Scholes in his pomp, and Liverpool’s number 10 has been just as influential, albeit with a much better tackling technique. His ability to not only survive but thrive in the heat of the engine room as a man of small stature shouldn't be understated, and he has a strong claim to be the team's best performing midfielder across the campaign as a whole.

This wasn't a game for the calm control that Arne Slot wants to make his trademark. Everyone in red was surfing on a wave of emotions, including those on the pitch. Any fears were laid to rest with a third goal on the half hour. Another corner fell to Gakpo, after shaking off Brennan Johnson with ease. He showed great composure to wait for the gap to appear, before slamming the ball into the bottom corner.

That breathing space gave Liverpool the chance to turn on the style. The ball began zipping around like it was in a pinball machine, leaving the away side chasing shadows. This run-in has been bereft of champagne football, and the champions finally began to flex their muscles.

And yet, taking those risks left gaps for counter-attacks. Mathys Tel has the trickery and quickness to trouble anyone, and Konate needed a last ditch tackle to deny him at the back post. Spurs have a habit of throwing haymakers when it looks like they are beaten, and continued to keep their hosts honest.

Kulusevski and Pape Sarr were introduced at half time, but the first moment of the second half should have brought Liverpool's fourth goal. Gakpo and Mac Allister combined deliciously, but rather than slotting his second, Gakpo looked to feed Salah, who was beaten to the punch by Djed Spence. There was an unmistakable feeling that the whole team craved a Salah goal, knowing that he has only a pair of penalties against Southampton from his last eight games.

He will be the footballer of the year and the golden boot winner, but the talk of a Spring slump is another narrative that this group clearly want to eliminate. Time and again they fed him into space to run at Spence, and finally on the hour, the cherry was placed on the title cake.

Szoboszlai led a four-on-four counter-attack, and waited until just the right moment to make the pass. Salah moved into position and took aim from twelve yards. Another unstoppable drive flashed beyond Guglielmo Vicario and the crowd erupted once again. Salah barely had time to get a selfie with the front row of the Kop before he was celebrating again. The sheepish grin revealed that he hadn't added to his own tally before the replay confirmed it. Diogo Jota, fresh from the bench, became the latest to play a dangerous ball across the six-yard area, that Destiny Udogie decided he couldn't leave alone. Sadly for him, he couldn't do anything but fumble the ball across the line with Salah at his back.

Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott joined the fun as red balloons cascaded onto the pitch, and another chant coloured the air - simple, insistent and devastating to the other side of North London, Manchester and beyond: “CHAMPIONS”.

A mantra that rang out among 60,000 voices, intoxicating, spine-tingling, definitive. There can be no doubt that Liverpool have been the best team in the country. As the finishing line approached, they were happy to sacrifice style for substance. Losing title races to Manchester City has shown this team that they need to be ruthless and relentless, and as the captain remarked post-match, it was the ability to produce week in, week out that helped them stand out from the pack.

“Consistency is the hardest thing in life not just football”, insisted an emotionally drained Van Dijk. “Everyone plays a big part, not just the players on the pitch, in training, the coaches, support staff, and fans. We all need to work together to be successful “.

Success brings celebrations, and the moments that followed the full time whistle will be remembered for the rest of our days. Four full stands stood to applaud and serenade their heroes to the sounds of Dua Lipa. Something inside this squad lit up Heaven in everyone who adores them the world over. Those feelings won’t let them sleep either, as those celebrations will go deep into next week and beyond.

Bring on the parade.