This is what we’re in it for.

LIverpool stop Crystal Palace from spoiling a memorable day at Anfield where the dreams of millions were realised.

Before the parade, came the party. Of all the set pieces afforded to Premier League champions, getting your hands on the trophy is one of the most memorable and highly anticipated. Denied the opportunity to receive their reward within the bosom of their loving support back in 2020, thousands flocked to L4 determined to make up for lost time and soak in every second. The team bus arrived through a cacophony of songs and smoke, ramping up the excitement to levels that would be hard to sustain for the next five hours until Virgil Van Dijk could raise the silver aloft.

As it turned out, those levels were unsustainable. Liverpool fell behind to Ismaila Sarr early in the first half, and threatened to continue their mildly underwhelming victory lap with a third defeat in four games since their 20th league title was confirmed. Luckily, they could call on the man who had written his name across this season like no one else. Mohamed Salah rode to the rescue one last time with his 29th league goal of the season to ensure no dark clouds settled over their golden sky.

It was fitting that on a day that was purely about joy, Liverpool included their guests in the celebrations. FA Cup winners Crystal Palace gave the champions a guard of honour, and then promptly received one of their own, to the approval of everyone inside the stadium. After beating Manchester City to secure their first ever trophy, there was always a chance that this occasion would turn into a love-in, and the early signs were good. Even the potentially biggest fly in the ointment - the departing scouser Trent Alexander-Arnold - received notably more cheers than boos when his name was read out amongst the substitutes.

Never had I arrived at Anfield on matchday when the outcome mattered so little. The players had spoken about wanting to crown their coronation with a win, but the usual considerations of tactics, formation and even performance felt immaterial. Every supporter inside the ground had come to sing for 90 minutes, and nothing was going to stop them.

That theory was tested when Palace took the lead. A stray ball from Conor Bradley was intercepted by Tyrick Mitchell with a pretty pirouette. His pass to Sarr was just as aesthetically pleasing, finding the former Watford man on the edge of the penalty area with only stray balloons for company. Alisson grasped at thin air as the ball slid beyond him and into the bottom corner.

The response was predictably defiant in the stands, but on the pitch, the team struggled to build up a head of steam. A pair of Cody Gakpo crosses to the back post, disturbed by a turbulent breeze, were all there was to show for the opening 20 minutes. Oliver Glasner’s dynamic 3-4-3 became a back 5 when out of possession, and for all of the probing from Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai around the fringes, there was no penetration.

Palace played the same game as in the FA Cup final, and on their last visit to Anfield, when they beat a table-topping Liverpool who were beginning to fall apart. This year’s vintage doesn’t have the same sense of fragility, but they were equally frustrated. Palace had done their homework. They knew when Gakpo was about to cut inside to his right, when to jump the pass out to Salah, when to press and when to sit in their shape.

Liverpool needed an injection of creativity, of unpredictability, of quality. A glance at the substitutes list suggested that there was one outstanding candidate, and sure enough, Alexander-Arnold emerged onto the pitch in the 2nd half for Bradley, to the sound of overwhelming cheers, that continued as he took his first touch. All perceived sins may not have been forgiven, but for the sake of not spoiling the party - and winning the match - they had been forgotten.

That quality quickly became evident. A raking crossfield diagonal to Gakpo was the catalyst for a dangerous move that ended with a Salah shot deflected beyond the post by the forearm of Maxence Lacroix. The Golden Boot winner howled for an opportunity to add to his collection, but with Lacroix’s arm tucked to his side, referee Darren England was unlikely to oblige.

Arne Slot had seen his side improve without posing any serious goal threat, and so on the hour, he rolled the dice. Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota joined the incumbent front three, with Szoboszlai and Ibrahima Konate withdrawn. Five forwards and Ryan Gravenberch at centre back. Make no mistake - Liverpool were going for the win.

There were almost immediate dividends, as Alexander-Arnold played the kind of defence-splitting pass that will have them salivating in Madrid, and had Jurgen Klopp shouting “What a ball!” from the director's box. Sadly, Nunez couldn’t make the most of it, thanks to a superb Dean Henderson save. Slot has shown that he’s as willing to traverse the risk/reward tightrope as his predecessor, but this was one of those times where his team toppled into the abyss.

Gravenberch had already been booked when he found himself as the last man defending a counter-attack. A fatal slip on the halfway line saw him clatter into Daichi Kamada, and with no one between the Japanese and the Liverpool goal, the red card was inevitable. A sad way for the Young Player of the year to sign off, and worse still that his suspension covers the first game of next season. His teammates became even more determined not to end on a similarly disappointing note.

And yet, for a while it seemed as though the football gods had decided that Liverpool would not score. Jota and Salah both passed up great opportunities, but eventually, mercifully, the dam burst. Jota fielded a knockdown from a long ball and fed Nunez down the right. He hung up a ball to the back post, where Gakpo rose like a salmon to nod into the path of Salah, whose hitch-kick took a kinder deflection from Lacroix to fly into the top corner. The combination of the four remaining forwards - Diaz had been sacrificed for Wataru Endo once Liverpool were down to 10 - represented vindication for the swashbuckling attitude of the head coach.

Salah had finally equalled the record for most goal contributions in a Premier League season, in 4 fewer games than Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, something that was clearly on his mind. Having added the Playmaker prize for most assists to player of the year gongs from the Premier League and the Football Writers’ Association, it’s only a matter of time before the PFA confirm an unprecedented clean sweep. Whether or not the Ballon D’or follows is a matter for another day, but there can be few more compelling cases in world football.

It was a goal greeted by a guttural roar, more smoke bombs, and the resumption of the champions’ serenade. An intoxicating, heady mix, and it felt like more than a few of the players became light-headed, as big chances emerged at both ends. But then the final whistle blew, and the emotions could fully flow.

Alexander-Arnold embraced his redemptive arc, lustily thrusting the Premier League trophy towards the Kop, and slapping the badge on his chest. For all of the accusations at the lack of emotion in his farewell video, when he's been on the pitch they've never been far from the surface.

Emotion has been the driving force behind the reaction to his departure - disappointment, anger, frustration and heartbreak all balled up into one, as much about the how as the what and the why. While it's still unsure exactly what an acceptable departure would have looked like - the idea that a sale for a hefty fee could have been completed with minimal fuss at any point in the previous 3 years feels like a fantasy - after so much debate and distraction, today was the day for Liverpool to think only of unity…to choose love.

It was another indication that nothing would spoil this day. These are the moments that draw us all into this crazy game that became a multi-billion pound business. For all of the grumbles, the greed, the toxicity and the ticket wars, this was the payoff. The ultimate hit that we will continue to chase until we can no longer raise a fist in triumph or a voice in song.

Liverpool play Crystal Palace again in the Community Shield 76 days from now. Plans have already begun to make sure this team can achieve what no Liverpool side has since 1984 and retain the League title. They also won the European Cup that year, a feat that will unquestionably be on the agenda again in 25/26.

An emotional Chairman Tom Werner was adamant that those in charge of decision making would leave no stone unturned: “We owe it to all of our supporters to bring back a team even better next year”. Some may be sceptical upon hearing those words, but if deals for the talented pair of Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz are completed before the start of June, those actions will speak much louder.

Sitting at the side of the Liverpool Olympia stage, watching hundreds of fans dance and sing and commit every minute of this moment to a shaky drink-addled memory, August 9th feels light years away. But the ecstasy and excitement felt in this and every red room across the globe will last until then, and beyond.

Bring on the parade.